Grammatical consult

It should be 'than', and not 'then'..

'Than' is used in a comparison, and looks weird with a capital T as its not used as the first word in a sentence (from what I've read)

Back to work..

I need a grammatical consult. I'm reading through a journal article and this person uses the word "then" in the following context:

When the matter was first heard by Commissioner Carter the defence was construed narrowly so as to limit it to the question of whether the soldier could physically carry out the tasks of training and fighting, rather then issues of deployability.

Is that correct? If it is, then in what situation would you use the word "than"?

Sounds sweet. Hope you guys have a great time.

Just remember, don't talk too late into the night or else a giraffe will throw you out the window!

Update on the ski trip:

Option A: Weekend Package

Dates: Leaving at 6pm Friday June 30th (returning Sunday night)

Cost: $245 (Student price for accommodation, 2 breakfast, dinner saturday night, coach to and from Sydney to Jindabyne and to and from the mountain each day) + $165 (2 day lift pass to Thredbo; 215 for perisher) + $49 (Ski, pole, boot hire; $59 for snowboard hire) + $29 (parka/pants hire) + $12 (glove purchase to keep)

So all up $500 not including lessons, lunches, and dinner on Friday and Sunday,

Option B:
3-day Midweek

Dates: leave 6pm Monday July 3rd (returning Thursday night)

Cost: add $50 for accommodation, and $70 for an extra day lift pass
Also, tag on a little extra for ski hire etc. This link also provides some details of the Snowy Valley Resort in Jindabyne, where we will be staying. It has the essentials, ie a bed and a heater, along with some desirables such as an outdoor spa. Accom. will be 4-6 share.

Confirmed: Yi, Spain, Marc, Moir
Interested yet Unconfirmed: Alexis, Jono
False Positive: James
Possible False Negative: Benny
Independent Ski Op: Kwong, Kai, Exhibit A, Exhibit B.

We need to book soon.

Eric,

If you are not on a contract with the plan then that means you can pay

14 * 24 = $336 for the phone (which is a great deal - cheaper than ebay) and the first month of calls then just bugger off to iSIM or something. That of course does not take into account the fact that your headset is locked to 3.

That is a great deal if I can find a friend who is adept at mobile phones.

Hmmm, James & Jono, my current 3 plan is capped at $29 and will have $120 worth of calls (any calls which include international, landline, mobile, sms, etc) and $70 or 100 mins for 3 calls. Minimum spend is $20 PLUS monthly charges for the phone, which is $14 per month. So in a way, you can argue that I am paying $43 max each month for $190 dollars worth of free call. However, I am NOT on a contract with the plan, I am ONLY on a contract to pay my phone off. So if i want, I can pay the rest of my phone off tomorrow, and don't have to pay for anything else.

Now my rates are pretty expensive compared to my old plan, but assuming I make all calls amounting up to 30 secs each, i can still make 200 calls. (Don't remember exact call charges, but I just remember the 200 call mark). That is a lot better than my old Optus plan. I can never use more than 60 dollars worth of calls each month, even when I make international calls to my dad, and various friends in HK. With the free 3 calls, I only have a handful of friends using 3, so the max i've used was 15mins out of the 100min free calls.

I mean, how much do you spend a month on your current plan? Not in monetary terms, but time-wise. Also, remember that with 3, it's 30secs per increment and i hate it when i make a call that is 31 secs long or sumthing...not that it matters. Lolz.

You should table that or use courier font. That formatting looks nasty, I got confused.

You're forgetting that no matter what you do, you have to spend at least $28 each month for 24 months. The phone itself can be bought on ebay for ~$400 which means the price difference of $272 is what should be going into your calls for 2 years.

If I spend $15 on average each month, multiplied by 24, then...thats $360 which works out best for you if you were to get it on ebay and join iSIM. Dependent on how many $$ calls you make a month though.

Does three give you a regularly updated transaction breakdown? I know when I was on a plan with Telstra in first year they didn't give you one deliberately so you would be blind as to how much you were spending. They would only give you the breakdown when they send you the bill.

What was Charlie doing with a 7370 by the way? This was when we were outside Central on Friday night

Jono,
Your plan is very good. My plan is 25c for flagfall. There is no cap. Just normal rates of 9c/30s, pay as much as you call. Most of my calls are fairly short too, here's some analysis:

sec Three iSim
10 34c 6.66c
20 34c 13.32c
30 34c 19.98c
40 43c 26.64c
50 43c 33.3c
60 43c 39.96c
70 52c 46.62c
80 52c 53.28c
90 52c 59.94c
100 61c 66.6c
110 61c 73.26c
120 61c 79.92c

So the breakeven point is about 80 seconds. Given most calls are basically "hey dude, where are you? cool, seeya there." Your plan is definitely good. Even a two minute call has my plan saving only 18c whereas I lose around that much for every call made under 80 seconds.

Do I get a phone if I join your plan?

The remaining perks I have are:
1. I get a free phone
2. 3 to 3 calls are essentially free
3. Free SMS

How does it stack up?

I think $28 is a minimum not a cap

James means that flagfall is not a relevant issue as it is outweighed by the super cheap call rates.

I guess us people at iSIM need to make many and brief phone calls which is why no flagfall is so attractive. If James talks a lot on the phone and has huge conversations, then this would be where his cost accrues so cheaper call rates dwarf the fixed payment of a flagfall

I also find it in my best interest to not use the mobile for prolonged periods as mobiles have only been in wide circulation for around 10 years (in Aus anyway) and we don't know exactly what effect longterm use can have. It is very much bleak not to want brain/eye cancer when I'm 30-40.

I may get no response for this, but I want to ask anyway :-D

What does "Flagfall is fine" mean?
25c? maybe 0c?

I like 0c.

I only ask since I might be interested to change and a $28 cap is much much more appealing than voda's silly $49 cap or something silly. This post is probably incoherent

Joining three isn't a bad way of getting cheaper Telstra network access if you could switch phones to operate only on 2G. Alas there was no way you could do this in phone menu using my beloved brick NEC e606. Things may have changed now though

Sirs,
I am choosing the 6280 for chiefly one reason: design. All its features, with the possibile exception of Bluetooth, are unimportant to me. Of all the phones 3 is offering me as a free upgrade, the 6280 is the only one that is inoffensive in design. In fact, upon closer inspection, its design is simple and even has elements of style. That I appreciate.

As for other 2G phones, I don't believe I can use them on 3. I am completely sold on the 9c/30sec rate. Flagfall is fine. Minimum $28 a month is fine. But what a jolly rate it is.

The latest update/correspondence with iSIM:

Me: I have tried 5 times with that random password you have given me and it still won't let me log on.

Caps lock is off and I am typing the correct username every single time (otherwise I wouldn't be receiving password emails to this account). I have been locked off the account for 1/2 hr.

Followup email from iSIM: Hello Marc

Please ensure that you are using the log in name of onebutters please copy and paste the new password to ensure it si correct

Admittedly I didn't tell them I had already tried copying and pasting also, yet its nice to know they actually listen to me and provide helpful advice.

Damn, john: that Benz S-class was nightrider! I really would have liked to know what would happen if he just got out of the car

James, just saw an ad and it reminded me that theres a nokia 6111 which looks very similar to the 6280 except without all the added features. If the features such as external memory support don't really appeal to you, then this 2G phone may be enticing if you're not fussed about joining three.

My Eggos have finally died.

The stiff wire inside right side plastic headband has snapped and it's only a matter of time before it snaps clean off and there will be no way of keeping the left side other my ear for one sided listening.

I then borrowed my sisters $10 earbuds to use temporarily... And the lack of bass was disturbing.

I was thinking of getting a friend to get me a pair of replacement Eggos while he's there...

Anyone have any recommendations?

I don't mind earbuds, but I can't seem to use the ones where it digs into your ear canal? I seriously like the Eggos look and feel though...


rantage
James as for a phone don't necessarily get an expensive phone like Scott's and Eric's with such a large amount of functionality. Do you really need a phone with mp3 and photo capability? How often will you actually use the camera in the phone? Music capability offers another problem since the handsfree may not offer a high enough music quality. The handsfree tend to be of cheaper quality and die easily. A friend of mine has gone through 3 hands frees in a year. The first one was very good, had good bass and lasted 7-8months... the successive ones were of the same model but died faster.

Finally your monthly usage now will not reflect your monthly usage next semester when you go back to uni XD

/rantage

That was really good, especially the earlier decade ones!

Man that guy can do the robot AND THE SNAKE ROFL!

Looks as if that guy lived through all of it.

The Evolution of Dance from the 60's.

Quite an impressively funny clip, and it pretty much only gets better

It makes a difference. I don't use the mobile a lot (to make calls) so I'm not that tempted by cheap call rates where there are minimum monthly spends.

Tru dat Mr Asia

It says John that you care deeply about your friends.

That and you ARE MR ASIA.

Napping be back later to talk about mobs

Yeah Marc, I am on iSim.

Wasn't the minimum $28 for James. Well prepaid, or contract, whatnot

Yi, if you are considering the regular MacBook then I would probably suggest the middle model. For $300 over the base, you get a slightly faster processor and a superdrive which is worth it I reckon, unless apple releases a new upgradeable superdrive that is not sh*te (50 minute burns at 2x). Still, it beats a combo drive.

$1000 over that middle model and you get 2+ inches wider screen, a real graphics card, single stick 512 ram (and not 2x256mb), 20GB+ HDD space, express card slot (although there is nothing on the market which uses this standard), aluminium sexiness, backlight keyboard sexiness (although practically useless). Drawback: the $1000 added, heaps less battery time.

Comparison Chart

john: if only you could say that about cars.

Thats strikingly similar to iSIM, jono. James, is there a minimum monthly spend?

James - 9c/30s sounds too good to be true. My current plan which is uber cheap for short calls is 40c/min billed by the second (which is awesome), with no flag fall. But it sucks for calls > 1min

Is there flag fall associated with your plan?

i choose not to buy a camera or take photos at outings because i know that whenever i go out, at least one friend will bring his/her camera along. i also know that this friend is more than happy to take happy snaps of anything remotely interesting; this person is also likely to be much more talented in photography than i am.

that also saves me the trouble from having to worry about carrying around this heavy thing worth hundreds of dollars (not likely that i will buy a thousand dollar camera in any case).

what does that say about me?

My purpose for photography is much simpler (apart from capturing the moment and reminiscing (dashboard dictionary rox)) that is to capture the moment and share it with the viewer so they can sense everything that I am at that moment.

Whats the jungian function for that?

Thanks for the phone advice guys. This blog is really turning into a something. Maybe we should get some Google Ads.

I think I will get the Nokia. Love 3's call rates. 9c/30seconds. mMMMmmMMM.

Photography is said to be the classic INTP hobby. Not only does it engage the dominant functions, it also forms as an outlet to the more underdeveloped functions.

1. The use of camera functions, understanding of exposure and shutter speed appeals to the dominant introverted thinking function.
2. The excitement of viewing reality as something else, re-interpreting reailty through a photo and generating interest out of the mundane gives great joy to extraverted intuition, the secondary function of the INTP.
3. The yearning for nostalgia, stemmed from the tertiary introverted sensing function is completely satisfied through viewing old photos; it reminds him of the time and place as well as ambience and mood.
4. The INTP's most underdeveloped function, extraverted feeling, finds an outlet in candid and people photography.

Unfortunately, this rather innocuous quartet of motivation is often regarded by the photographic subjects as at best sneaky and at worst offensive and evidence that the photographer has no life!

Silly Charlie.

The expressions of Winnie, Dia and Benny individually tell it all...

Group - Kwong's Graduation Dinner

Group - Kwong's Graduation Dinner
Originally uploaded by rubberbanhpho.

Few things:

Firstly, congrats Kwong for graduating with First Class Honours, truely amazing stuff.

Yi, hope your Routing assignment is not exacerbated by our prolonged interference last night. Also, whilst your bed may appear as a tool for self-flagellation, we all know that should Eros work in your favour, it won't let you down by making squeaky noises and bring unwarranted attention =)

Jono, as much as you try to deflect our attention, we all know your highlight of the night has to be this.

Finally, thanks for sharing photos guys; and James, you're right. INTPs are nostalgic, and photography feeds this nostalgia.

Happy Birthday Yi!

I'll be there in 5 years =P

Thanks guys for making my 22nd such a special occasion. I must say, it's the most lovely, touching, sweet birthday I've had for a long time.
Hope to see you guys in another 5 years!

Well, I've only used it to take 5 photos. Compared to my 828, I got it for 1 week, and immediately took 1.8gb worth of photos. 300 photos in one day was my best record so far and that was in Taiwan, lolz. In terms of features, well, I only wanted a phone with infra-red and bluetooth, and no joystick, yet affordable. The 6280 was the only one. With the 3 contents, I have subscribed to the sports pack for F1 and World Cup. After that i will be getting off it.

The V3 series is quite a good phone. A few of my friends have it, and after playing around with theres, I concluded that it's not that good, since I have trouble pressing the keys with one hand. Too thin for my liking, plus my last moto flipfone exp left me phoneless and constant arguments with parents for two weeks because they kept saying I "deliberately" turned the phone off until they swapped fones with me to see whether it was true. It turned out that the flip has died, and it will auto turn the fone off. (This is the Startac x btw) and even though the battery is now located under the phone, I still have a thing against motos. And the fact that the V3x was a lil more expensive than my 6280 back then made it a lot easier for me.

Belated Happy Birthday, Yi!

Thanks to you Benny, the workhorse. You washed them dishes good. Thanks to James for sharing his culinary skills. Your cuisine reigns supreme.

So...tell me how you're feeling. XD

Yah 6280 looks very sexy. I was toying around, like I always do, with the idea of buying one...but then I found out Eric had one and that put an abrupt end to that plan.

j/k Eric, I was toying with the idea of getting one until the laptop trumped it. Its the best looking phone on the market IMHO, however I feel the features are a little overkill. So the money not only goes into the styling but also unnecessary features eg 3G capabilities which I never even used when I was on 3 a year ago. I doubt you would use it to take photos, but the camera on the phone is also not the best in its class. If you look at some samples, the camera doesn't perform as well as, say, Scott's phone which is the Sony Walkman range (check out the imobile.com.au review of the 6280 - the photo in comparison looks slightly like an impressionistic watercolor. Go to the price guide section for a list).

If you're going for utilitarian over style, then I would probably suggest going for the Sony Walkman mobile range assuming you want to replace your iPod. The W800i (Scott's model) costs ~$50-100 less than the 6280 on ebay. Both support external memory for your music player.

The 6280 right now uses miniSD format and I don't know how long that will last. Currently they make upto 2GB cards but they may just leave it at that for all I know. I have a 6230 right now with a 1GB MMC card and I'm stuck with it because MMC don't have any greater capacity. The implicit bonus of Sony over the others is that you won't have to be afraid of Sony dumping the memory card format and thereby limiting your storage capacity in the future (for mp3s and what have you). Also you have to be careful which brand card you buy as some maybe incompatible with the firmware revision of your Nokia phone. As Sony is the primary producer of MS, you probably don't need to worry about that.

Of course this may not even be an issue for you, but it was something I was considering before I dropped the idea completely.

Despite that the 6280 is still a very cool fashion accessory and one you won't be ashamed of in 5 years time. I can't say the same for the Sony line. Its 2G being on Telstra is definately a plus.

Edit: on second thoughts, the 3 site called it "super-cute". Pick something else.

All the movie stars have the Motorola V3 (the one Yi likes) but being Motorola, it would just disintegrate as soon as you break the shrink wrap.

Hey James, i have the 6280 now. It's actually a pretty good phone. Haven't had any problems with it yet, and the camera is suprisingly good for a camera phone. 2mp is nothing compared to your R1, but when you forget your R1 (if that will EVER happen), then it might come in handy. Plans-wise, unless you make a LOT of calls, 29 capped is more than sufficient for most. You can even make international calls on it. Reception with 3 is pretty good, even if it has no 3 signals, it will go on Roam with telstra networks.

if you want a pic of Lisa to throw in your wallet I'm sure, Linda has better pics Jono XD

Thanks to James, Marc, Jono and Charlie for the effort they put for Yi's birthday last night at such short notice.

Such quick, impromptu ops is what the PC crew is about and it's great that we haven't lost our touch.

And of course a massive Happy Birthday to Yi!

Hopefully your dad got you a Porsche Boxter XD

I've decided finally to get a new phone after more than five years on my loved-hated Orange phone.

Choices are not too good. Mostly cheap Korean clamshells. This NOKIA is my favourite so far:
Nokia 6280

The plan is $28/month. 9c/30seconds; loads of free 3 to 3 calls.

Any suggestions on phones, plans and ideas will be appreciated.

Nice photos John/Linda. Really capture the night well. Thanks for posting them up.
I recall us taking a group photo of, I think, Linda, Cassandra(maybe), Lisa and myself by that back balcony window? Probably another camera.

Anyway, cool photos. My favourites:
1. Funniest shot. Charlie. Lisa. hilarious.
2.
3.
4. Very classy.

You z00ch spain! You were the one who screwed up the blog for the past few days! I suggest you learn some html...

In the meantime don't use angle brackets like <3 on the blog

If you really need to though do it like this &lt;3

I <3 spain.

click here for some photos from linda's 21st celebrations.

let me know if you have some photos to contribute and we'll put them on as well.

Why thank you Benny. So that my chances of being snatched are non-zero, please kill Paul Bettany for me. Spain will send zeals.

I'm totally down for heading to Yi's tomorrow. I can cook a pasta or something. And we can have just *one* game of star. How about it Yiz0r?

Young woman = jennifer connelly

You look very dashing in your graduation robes James,

I'm surprised no young woman snatched you up... XD

Anyone wanna go to Yi's house tomorrow?

Photos Uploaded

Lots of mini cameras have image stablisation. Very good feature to have. Panasonic has them across the whole Lumix range. The high end Sony T's have IS too.

Hmph...speak for yourself Kwong :p

Actually...that is a tempting thought getting a new camera...but...must resist urge...save up

Pardon ignorance, but what differentiates all those small compact rectangular cameras from one another? Each manufacturer releases about a dozen of these cameras and all of them have about the almost exactly the same size MP and zoom. There must be a deciding factor which makes them stand out in an overpacked crowd?

I can see that the new Fuji compacts have A/S priority settings now which make them a bit more attractive.

Yeah thanks for coming, everyone. Couldn't agree more Benny, don't think we've had a gathering with this level of attendance for a while. Good memories, happy days. Don't worry, a whole bunch of yas gonna be graduating soon, so even more chances. James, as much as I wanted to go to CFN with you guys, it just felt funny doing so on my graduation day. :P

Anyway, once again thanks for coming. For all you great photographers out there, would it be possible to get some photos of the night from you guys. Preferrably the original, uneditted files. I wasn't particularly happy with the photos taken by my camera, and I know time after time James has told me to dump that pos. :)

I spent another $20 at Korean BBQ.

So that's $28 (Poultry filled dinner) + $5 (snacks) + $20 (Korean BBQ) = $53 for the day's op.

In one word, unsustainable.

But I'm in no position to complain: that person most susceptible is our dear ION. Consider first the doubling of costs in dating then the non-linear growth in activities you will perform as a result of dating, then we reach a bill far too great for a boy juggling thesis and part time jobs.

Our hearts are with you young man. And remember, when the wallet hits the fan, 16 Boulton St. Putney Pizzeria is open. :D

Agreed, Benny. The dropships could have been done with more enthusiasm though :)

Well done, Kwong and congratulations once again on surviving 4 years of tortuous university even though James has more to look forward to in the immediate future.

Thats not bad actually, James, taking a 8 month break.

Also I am feeling very much the sting of constant outings as you mentioned James.

$50
$50
$50
$20
$50
$50

and it just goes on...

Great outing, good old first year feel of dining out. Thanks heaps to Kwong for accommodating 35 people. ^^

Thanks to James for the poultry play, 2 peking ducks...

And everyone else who made it a great night out.

Good luck to everyone on their exams and assignments!

Cafe de paris is usually served with sirloin since the sauce is pretty strong and sirloins are bland compared to rump but the cut is usually the softest. -- Sid's words

It most definitely is butter based.

Here's a recipe online if you want to spoil your reverse engineer

Benny,
That steak looks like a something. Do you remember which cut it was? And was the sauce butter based?

I'm down for a new reverse-engineering food project.

PS. I love your friend Sid's drawings. Too bad about the "I do not draw anything pornographic in nature." I could so be a customer.

Yi - do you have any special plans for, oh I dunno, this Sunday May 28th, 2006?

haha you're absolutely right Marc
I guess I was thinking collared shirt to somewhat match her work wear, which from last week was a skirt and heels, but we'll see

Or come join me in my weekly visit to sample some ocean trout

She liked you the way you dressed that Friday so the simplest answer is to try and maintain that level.

What the hell happened to the blog? Its not the template because I loaded a backup on. Seeing as it isn't a problem with the template, I'm suspecting someone wrote some bad html and blogger couldn't pick up on it.

Yi: I just got a call from that exact same number. iSim is upto no good.

Lolz, Charlie. The pic is cool! GO WOLVERINE! I'd pay to see JONO dress like that!

Jono, dress like that for our next party! =3 But Not for you date though. =D Have a great one 2morrow nite.

John, the "imminent" point, again, can be better worded. However, the point of that is, recession or any slowing down of growth is coming. True, the government can't prepare a budget every year to make sure that everyone's better off until the real "recession" is here. So i completely understand that. I am just saying, the government can implement OTHER strategies that can help people pay their bills, AND not place pressure on the interest rates. Also, I completely understand that the two policies SHOULD not affect each other but I personally believe that the government needs to think about the pressure it might have on other factors.

Check out this comp and this one

Sound cool, so long you're not intending to dress like...well, this.

Thanks for your suggestions guys, I'm quite impressed at how many you all had.

Marc - yes, I completely understand that this involves someone else (her) and so I'm not trying to make this public, hence the opening line, "Don't mean to make this so public but...". But yeah I was simply looking on suggestions for some good places to eat or have a coffee. That's all. :)

John I like your suggestions, haha I don't know if I'll do the, "look for extra bad food, as it will give you something to talk about and an excuse to ask for a second better date next time."

Sure you want some improvement but ... well, you want *some* kind of future as well. Is that what you did when you first met Linda...

Charlie - I have no idea what to wear. Something smart casual but not too formal or too overkill, like my navy blue collared Versace shirt and jeans, brown shoes or something.

haha but yeah very cool, thanks guys.

Bistro Moncur in Paddington is really good.

$40 for Cafe du Paris steak though so it's not cheap.

Masuya is probably the best Japanese restaurant in the city area but it'll might be packed so book if possible and it's in Martin Placeish so not so close to her work.

My personal recommendation is Adam's Kebabs in Bankstown though XD

Some pics of the gorgeous but not cheap food
My entree Salmon marinated with herbs and toast.
Friend's entree Provencale fish soup.
Cafe du Paris, the chef's signature dish, made with over 20 herbs and spices
Dessert Coupe of 3 sorbets with Dried apple.
Priceless The butcher's bill for 5 people all with entrees, mains and dessert.

I need money.

To extend on what James said, if you want something simple by the waterfront, go to Harry's at Wooloomooloo?

I keep it real, son.

If you're considering King Street Wharf, we ate at Casa Di Nico for Chris Hampson's birthday. The food there was exquisite.

Also, if weather gets too cold, Cargo Bar is right next to it.

I would advise against full blown intimiacy on first date. What comes too easy loses its appeal too quickly.

What do you plan to wear?

Hey ION,
I'm actually not acquainted with where to eat in Sydney. In my mind there's Tetsuya and Superbowel; very big gap.

Musahsi is definitely a great, great place if you think Japanese will work for you two. If not then maybe have a light meal at one of the water front cafes in darling habour. John's suggestion of lazying about Starbucks afterwards is definitely a good one.

Ignore marc's doom and gloom lawyer talk about privacy. He's BWVing again. If you two work out, I'm inviting you two over for pizza. I'm open as early as next week.

Have a good time dude. :)

Jono: So is the point of your story is that God is a Buddhist?

disclaimer: i have not tried this myself, use or adopt at your own discretion.

walk down town hall and you'll see lots of discount take away food at around 4-6pm, or get other take away (sushi, wok on in, fish & chips, etc) if you're feeling classy. head to darling harbour and sit outside, weather permitting. it's something different, but might be a bit cold for that.

look for extra bad food, as it will give you something to talk about and an excuse to ask for a second better date next time.

or you can go to a restaurant at king street wharf for dinner, then go to starbucks/gloria jeans and sit at the couches for ages.

Musashi followed by Passionflower in close proximity.

Also we can walk past and drop in "unexpectedly".

I would advise against broadcasting your activities. As much as we do want to hear about it (and as benign the conversation) the other party may not enjoy being the topic of wide conversation ;)

Don't mean to make this so public but (in particular James) any recommendations for a good place to eat or something this Friday night about 5:30 or 6pm would be well appreciated. Yes, this is for Lisa and I and no Kwong, I won't be missing your dinner :) As far as I can tell, she'll need to be heading home around 7:30 maybe as late as 8pm so timing is about right.

So far possible places I have include-
Pancakes on the rocks
King St Wharf restaurants (right behind syd aquarium, darling harbour)
The Spanish quarter of Spanish restaurants on liverpool st (next to 3 wise monkeys?)
Chinatown (don't know what's good there though)
Thai possibly but that's in Newtown

Maybe gelato afterwards, say Passionflower or something

I like Pancakes' location since it's a good walk from George St where she gets off work, but it's a bit touristy. Newtown is too far a walk. Anyway any recommendations more than welcome, and no it's not supposed to be uber-over-the-top classy like centre point tower rotating restaurant

Annnnyway, just a thought

Thanks guys

iSim (n): a mobile provider that lets you change your password to greater than 10 letter string but only accepts max 10 letters in the password field thereby denying me access. Furthermore they send you the changed password to confirm as you count the number of letters in it. They then proceed to ignore you when you tell them about the problem...twice.

Sorry spain, haven't been here for a while and so don't know who's who :P

It's gonna be a bit crowded on Friday. All the better for CFN? :)

Benny or Charlie behind the wheel?

So the moral of that story is there is no Messiah but in fact we are our own saviour?

An entertaining story, a random one that pops up when I login to linux at Uni.

Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a
great crystal river. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to
the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of
life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But
one creature said at last, "I trust that the current knows where it is
going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I
shall die of boredom."
The other creatures laughed and said, "Fool! Let go, and that
current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the
rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!"
But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go,
and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks.
Yet, in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current
lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more.
And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried,
"See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the
Messiah, come to save us all!" And the one carried in the current
said, "I am no more Messiah than you. The river delight to lift us
free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this
adventure.
But they cried the more, "Saviour!" all the while clinging to
the rocks, making legends of a Saviour.

Skiiers: Are we ok to spend $600-$700 for the trip? This is a conservative estimate taking into account accom, food, transport, lift pass, peak price (early july), equipment hire, lessons.

Yi are you absolutely sure? I know thesis is a pain in the arse, but how's this for comfort: I haven't started writing mine =(. Think of it this way, you finish on the 30th, we leave on the Sunday, ski for 3 days, and we'll be back on the Wednesday night. You'll still have 2.5 weeks left to work on the thesis. So how about it?

Some Info:

OZ Snow Adventures - The package we took last year, staying at the snow valley resort. Everything is paid separately

STA - the weekend and 3 day mid-week deals looks enticing, we'll have to factor in cost of lift pass and equipment hire.

New Zealand!

Marc: we'll need to convince another noob to come who'll keep you company for the first day at least

Kwong, its Spain yo!!! All those years at Usyd, meant nothing to you???

but yeh, If i'm too late with the rsvp thats cool mate, but i would love to come.

spuniasaur... IS DAVID BOWIE!! zomg kwong, you spent years at sydney uni with me. but yeh its spain, is there room for me or am i too late with the rsvp?

Agreed that it is lamentable james.

Will I survive? Are there any noobs that will keep me company?

Speaking of company, Russell Peters is coming to town. Need to buy tickets asap, $56.90 Calling for tenders if anyone is interested.

I finally have a decent exam timetable.

exam 1 - 8th Jun
exam 2 - 20th Jun
exam 3 - 27th Jun

Last half-decent one I had was when WOW Beta came out, so that went down the toilet.

I've booked for 20 people for 7:30 at Marigold, and I think it shouldn't be too hard to change the numbers. Right now I have roughly 20 people down for dinner, and a few more yet to reply.

Regarding the snow, I would love to go again this year, but obviously my availability is limited to weekends or 3 days at best. I don't mind driving down there, and last year I had inquired about snow chains. It's pretty much unnecessary I think. Besides, most hotels/motels provide some sort of shuttle bus to and from snowfields, so you could leave your car at your accomodation.

Yi, I got a call from a similar number on Saturday. Good job with the Googling. :)

Spuniasaur = ?

Curiosity does us all.
Got a missed call from some random number: 8404 2236
Not sure whether to call back or not.
Decided to ask the great Gooracle for advise after getting home.
After some careful queries, she came back with this and this.

Thesis report and presentation is officially over. However we've been tagged for more ground work before session 2 starts, which means cutting into our stuvac and holiday time. :(

This, Charlie, unfortunately means I don't think I have the time to indulge in a ski trip any more.

Kwong, I am not sure if I can make it to your graduation now.. Routing assignment is a monstrosity and due on Friday, which I have yet to start because of thesis.

Marc, black runs just require you to "stop" every now and then to slow yourself down. :D

Finally, Linda, thanks for the great party! Enjoyed it very much. You need to post those questions and answers sometime. ;)

Thredbo Trail

Black runs are not recommended for first-timers, as there is a risk of injury/death. You'll most likely spend the first half of your first day on Friday Flat (F), and once you're confident, you can explore Merritts (D), which is where we were mostly during Year 11 Jindabyne. Merritts has a lot of short blue and green runs for intermediate skiiers. The Easy Rider T-Bar (11) is where I did the infamous somersault off the roof.

The ZOMFG of all trails is the Supertrail (red line connecting 1 to E), which is around 4km in length and takes about 40 minutes to get from top to bottom. John and I never accomplished it in one piece. The top of the Supertrail is also the highest point you can go, which is about 100 odd metres off from the highest point in Australia.

Hi all,

Kwong if its not too late to say I'd love to come to your dinner if thats ok, and, hehe derail to cfn after :)

on the snow topic i got some food for thought. Driving down sucks, you waste 2hours per day driving to and fro, you have to mess with chains (a complete bitch for the most part) and if you coach you can stay right on the snow. So i advocate coach and hiring down there :) and i prefer perisher, just seems, snowier... oh yeh and agree 3/5 days good

Dear Gary Kwong Tarolli,
Friday op sounds great. I graduate on Friday as well so we can merge our operations at night. Resteraunt choice is lamentable but it captures the utilitarian nature of the degree we obtained.

Night op sounds fandidlitastic -- especially the gambling part; come on Starcity, give me your money.

Adrian/Spain/Bowie's birthday is today. A big happy birthday to our dear Spain. He will also most likely join us for a Friday night op to account for his birthday with our graduation. I sense a climax of utility.

Love,
-Jennifer Connelly

Black runs: How does that bode for an n00b like myself? I don't mind driving if its cheaper (but unlikely)

My last exam is on the 23rd.

Block Party tomorrow night (Tues) 7:10pm at George St cinema. Interest (Charlie)? Be there or be white.

Anyone interested in coming skiing this year?
Variables to consider:

3 days/5 days - 3 days is appropriate for first-timer or novice skiiers who are not fit

Thredbo/Perisher: Thredbo cheaper, Perisher apparently nicer. However, while we were there last year, we have yet to experience all that Thredbo has to offer: eg. black runs.

Self-drive/coach: subject to avaibility of car but coach is the likely option.

Late June/Early July: Late June has early bird special, also you avoid peak traffic at the snow fields, but early July is probably more feasible given people's availabilities.

We would likely take a deal that includes accommodation, breakfast and dinners, and ski hire, along with optional lessons.

Let me know if you are interested

The question is not what stupid comments so much as which stupid comments.

Hello all!

Thanks for a wonderful birthday party Linda. Haven't had one that has been so energetic and well-organised for a long time :)


Could I have a show of hands for those who can attend my graduation dinner (and haven't replied yet)? I've simply said dinner because I know most people aren't free during the day, so it would be easier to just have a dinner. Current plan is 7:30pm at Marigold (don't grill me on restaurant choice, I had no say in the decision) with karaoke, PC, drinks, or gambling as options for afters.

what stupid comments?

I may be stupid, and I may comment, but...I don't make stupi....alright what stupid comments?

1337 krew

Jono, those stupid comments you made in the past will be coming back to haunt you in the very near future >:D

crew or kr3w?

Great party Linda.

You do realise we need to talk, and soon, so get online woman! I mean that with the best of all intentions...

LOL I knew there was something wrong with the term "gang". I was thinkig: gang? the only thing gangster about this group is benny. I think the more appropriate word you were looking for was "crew" :)

Hey guys (aka PC Gang - woh, such a scary name!),

I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for helping me celebrate my 21st.

I know I wasn't able to hang out with some of you as much as I had wanted, but I hope you all had a great time! I guess you all now know what I'd be like if I was a guy aye? =P

Well, I look forward to seeing you all again at the next outing! Sorry I had to leave before some of you were ready to leave but maybe next time we can make up for it... haha, CFN night anyone?

colleague sent me this link

You sure it wasn't a small 2d caucasian male with a smock of yellow hair?

ALERT

I have just received a report from my co-worker that a doppleganger of Marc Pang was spotted at the unigym not 15 minutes ago.

I've just tried doing my assignment (that was due on Friday) completely on Openoffice v2.0.2 and I must say I was quite impressed. I used v1.1.3 before and that was crap (in fact it screwed me over, I can't remember how though), but they've improved the compatibility with Office XP since. They've also included the essential tools that you all love/need.

There were headers, footers, page numbers, footnotes and tables and Microsoft Word was able to read everything correctly. Unless Microsoft intends to release a new version of their Office suite (in order to break the compatibility) soon, then I would recommend using Openoffice v2 - it will be one thing less to feel guilty about. The bullet point images are still a bit screwy but I'm sure there is a quick workaround for it. Very pleased with it. I'll be using that for both OSes instead of ripping off Office Mac James :)

I think there was some Kenny in the food.
there seems to be a startling case of pink eye in a lot of the ppl in the photograph

I saw james' face before I read you caption...classic rofl.

Birthday Cake

Birthday Cake
Originally uploaded by rubberbanhpho.

James your expression is disturbingly intriguing

Group@Linda's 21st

Group@Linda's 21st
Originally uploaded by rubberbanhpho.

Let me first clarify I do not champion Labor's policy. In fact I voted for the Coalition in the last election against the wishes of my family, who feels forever indebted to the Labor party since Hawke's announcement after the Tianmen Massacre in 1989, the very reason for our residence here.

I simply feel it's inadequate to judge the validity of a policy in vacuum. The expansionary policy was necessary given the conditions at the time, irrespective of economic management. And what are they? Well certainly these 3 factors has something to do with it:

a)The Gulf War
b)Australia is heavily export-oriented
c)There was a recession in 1990-1991 affecting exports. Of course you could argue why the recent brief recession in the US did not cause the same domino effect? Well it seems our reliance on them is no longer as strong as China is soon becoming our second largest trade partner, and this tiger seems to be going strong (perhaps partly contributory to the current prosperity?).

Would Labor have given any recognition to the opposition? Well that depends on who's in power, but I would think that someone who's got the guts to claim Australia was becoming a Banana Republic would certainly have the candour to do what is decent. As for now, Labor seems to be lacking decent leadership.
Now you could also ask the question, what would the Coalition government have done given the conditions facing Labor in the 1990s? Unfortunately, all these 'what ifs' seems unanswerable unless we have two comparable alternative realities running in parallel.

However, the fact is Australia is doing well under the present government and hence my support for them.

As for the 'imminent' recession, well that we can wait and see.

charlie:

yes, mismanagement of the fiscal policy would be detrimental to the economy as a whole, hence affect the monetary policy, and vice versa. diligence in both instruments is vital to the health of an economy.

yes, the last labor government did have some lagged effect on the economy. no, the coalition government did not give recognition of this. would you expect them to? would labor, in the position of the coalition, give recognition of the opposition? i don't think so either.

the expansionary policies under labor you championed - would they happen to be in the form of financing debt through issuing bonds? would that happen to be the same policies that riddled the government's balance sheet with so much debt that it has taken over 10 years to pay off? is that so much different than what argentina did in the seventies?
lets not forget that the cash rate was well over 15% under labor. that, i think, is the perfect encapsulation of the difference between a government that values sound economic reasoning to one that does not.

yes, the budget is a political tool as much as it is an economic one. that is why, in my mind, the budget failed to "do enough". the current tax and social welfare system is far from what is ideal, this is because politicians have to "buy votes" (as eric puts it).
in light of this, by appealing to "middle australia", eric's article is but another manifestation of the political nature of economics.


eric:

"Imagine, he announced an extra 0.1% of GDP. What will the Governor do in response to that? 0.1% of GDP might sound small, but in monetary terms, I believe that's around 980 million? So in other words, if he was to increase the tax cuts by another 980 million, the RBA might take necessary actions to offset the tax cuts."

again, the object of the two economic instruments are not to offset each other, or to maintain the status quo. they each answer separate questions, and even entertain different models and theories (depending on which government is in power).

would you consider "within the next 5 years" as "imminent"? furthermore, is there basis for criticising the federal budget of 06-07 in failing to "soften the blow" for this incidental variation in energy costs, when your contention is for a possible recession in 2012?

I'm (still) reading History of Nearly Everything:

"How fast a man's beard grows, for instance, is partly a function of how much he thinks about sex (because thinking about sex produces testosterone surge)."

ROFL @ Hash XD

Lolz. Hash, you are enjoying it aren't you?! =þ

Yes, thank you for the invite. The rabbit was good...=3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Thanks for the invite Linda. Happy Birthday!

"Hajime no Eric - Round 2"

Ed iz Dazed

the ref starts the count

1....2...3...ow

Unbeleivable, John walks intot he ring and takes out the ref.

OMG, the judges are allowing it

he bows to his opponent and comes in swinging.

Ouch, a Liver Blow, Eric looses his footing, his ankles touch the ground.

A fretting little boy with a swathe of yellow hair calls encouragement to the new contender ... and he is spat upon by Eric after Eric lands a vicous right jab on John.

The ref, now recovered deducts a point for spitting and separates the fighters.

John wanting more gives the ref the finger and spits on the little boy as well.

Eric uses this convenient distraction to sneak in a heavy kick to the crotch.

Will he judges allow it?

Can John continue or will he sing soprano for the rest of his life?

find out in the next exiting ep of "Hajime no Eric"

It is true that it is the RBA's job to look after the standard of living and so forth. However, as treasurer, I still believe that he has a role to play in the standard of living game. Just this budget alone, we can see that he does have indirect power over the stance of the monetary policy. Imagine, he announced an extra 0.1% of GDP. What will the Governor do in response to that? 0.1% of GDP might sound small, but in monetary terms, I believe that's around 980 million? So in other words, if he was to increase the tax cuts by another 980 million, the RBA might take necessary actions to offset the tax cuts.


Of course, I am well aware of the technicality in the term "recession." However, once the bubble burst, it will only be a matter of time before we get 2 -ve GDPs in succession. Again, I believe my choice of words on that point could have been different, but I still hold my point of seeing a recession in the near future. Maybe not this year, or next year, but IMO, definitely within the next 5 years. Although I have no logical explanation as to why I came up with a figure of 5 years, but economic growth for over 10 years?

I also agree with Charlie's last point, the one about the budget being a part of the whole political tool. The term "per-election budget" sound familiar? Take this with a grain of salt, but I personally believe tax cuts and reduction in excise, etc are simple Government expenditure to "buy" the people's votes. I think I am just a little skeptical about politics but that is how I feel about it. (And not saying I don't like tax cuts. I love them. =D lol)

LOL, I think i've started a great debate on economics.

Whilst in theory FP and MP are independent of each other, it has been documented that FP interferes with MP. In it's most conspicous form, Argentina, once among the richest countries in the world; financed its piling debt in the 70s by printing more money. This inevitably led to an increase in money supply, causing hyperflation. A more subtle form of interference results when government finance the budget (partly) through issuing bonds. This naturally competes for investment funds and thus messing with interest rates.

Also, since the infamous stagflation of the 70s, Keynesian economics has been somewhat discreted (though not totally). Along with the revival of neoclassical free market view, it's no surprise to see the budget used as a microeconomic management tool. However, while microeconomic issues are being addressed, is it enough? Labor is certainly arguing that it isn't. This is perhaps so because the primary purpose of the budget is still to manage aggregate demand, hence the $37 billion tax cut. So should we believe everything Costello says? Don't get me wrong, I admire what Costello has done over the past 10 years in managing Australia's economy, but lets not forget that part of the success was due to the lagged effect of expasionary policies under the Labor government in the early 90s. Did Coalition government ever give them any credit? In the light of this, the budget is not merely an economic tool, but a political one too.

marc: i don't capitalise on my written works, other than at uni. why do you ask?

there's a difference between bleak world view and a critical style of review. even though i don't think bwv is necessarily bad. lawyers need to be pessismists.

eric: it's the rba's job to soften the blow of higher living costs in the form of controlling inflation, not the treasury's. as costello said, the fiscial policy is aimed more at long term microeconomic reforms, as opposed to the near term fluctuations and speed of the economy.

moreover, my comment on the role of the government as protecting the operation of markets was made to illustrate this, that the fiscial policy handed down last week is more far-sighted than dealing with fluctuations in the resources sector.
which is the reason i mentioned the microeconomic reform strategies - superannuation and social welfare payments - these are longer term strategies that are more than mere responses to incidental variations in energy costs.

it's true that your article is aimed at the macro-level, but i was questioning the wisedom of viewing the whole budget as a rather simplistic deduction of either expansionary or contractionary. perhaps this criticism is more directed towards the discipline of macroeconomics, rather than your article.

yes, there's no such thing as an ever growing economy; in my opinion, the current state of affairs now do indicate that we have been riding a bubble, and a correction is upcoming (which is much welcomed).
but i think you know that the economic term "recession" carries with it a technical meaning of two successive contractionary months. it is regarded as a pretty big deal, and most certainly carries with it connotations much more severe than a general "slowing down" of the economy.

John,

It is true that it is not the Government's job to look after the household expenditures, however, I believe the stance of the budget was to help families to soften the blow of the higher living costs.

Yes, I also believe that the implementation of the fiscal policies should not be hindered by monetary policies, or vice versa. However, I personally believe that the Government should have the idea of interest rate movements in the back of their minds while setting the budget. That might not make sense, but what is the point of cutting taxes, and push up interest rates? Tax cuts = rise in interest payments. Of course, I am not saying that the tax cuts are evil and will definitely push up the rates, but pushing the limits stated by Ian Macfarlane? I'd rather have a smaller tax cut, and a bigger petrol excise cut.

The reason why I have only focused on the macro side of things is because of the recent interest rates movements and petrol prices. Petrol prices is actually one of the reasons why the RBA increased the IR. Micro-reforms,in my opinions, is not the biggest problem at the moment, although it does represent a large portion of the budget. Again, I am not undermining the importance of micro-reforms. It's just that the focus of my article was purely on macro policies.

In terms of the statement "recession is imminent," I have heard/read from a few sources that a recession is coming close. There is no such thing as a ever-growing economy. We have already missed our recession, and there are signs that the economy is slowing. Perhaps, I should have used other words to describe the situation, like "recession is a possibility" or "with signs of the economy slowing down."

Furthermore, the targeted audience IS aimed towards the middle income families. That is because the first reaction I have when i saw the figures was, the distribution of income is increasing. Shouldn't the government do something about that?



Marc,

I am not saying that it is the Government's Fault for the rising fuel prices, however, I do believe that the Government SHOULD do something about the excise duty they charge. A while ago, you posted a graph showing the increase in petrol prices with an analysis of the costs and taxes involved. So I believe that the government should do something about that excise, but by no means abolish the whole thing. That is just not going to happen. Perhaps I should have added "the government does have the option of lowering the excise..."

And nop, no word limits. Well, minumum 25 words, but I've set myself a limit of around 500.

BTW, the article was aimed at the budget and macro polices. Not micro, so that's why I have NOT mentioned anything on micro policies. That is why super and allowance for women to re-enter workforces policies were not mentioned. If I were to write another article, I would mention these factors as well as roads and infrastructure as well as the privatisation of Telstra and Medicare(??)

PS: Like to thank those who took the time to read and rate the article, and your opinions are noted. John, I knew you are gonna have a "reply" to my article so I was ready. All in all, I don't think it was that good an article. Took me a few goes and Charlie's editing work to get it to that stage...

What do you need after a good thesis workout?
Funny man Stephen Colbert.
Pure laughter for 24 minutes.

"and as usual, my review is critical in nature, so don't be put off by the negative comments; i just do a better job of pointing out flaws than praising excellence"

You better take that back before James calls you BWV. On a sidenote, I'm curious: do you capitalise in your written works john? Thats something I've always wanted to know.

Aside from that one thing did stand out for me: you talked about excise duty from petrol and the tax cuts being of equal value. It sounded like you were implying some full interchangeability between the both ie sacrificing all excise for this year and forgo also the taxcuts. While this idea is ridiculous, I do agree that it should be possible that some degree of the taxcuts could be from excise on petrol instead. Not sure what the economical consequences of that are.

Was there a strict word limit?

eric: not sure whether you want us to do this here or in the comments section of your article. and as usual, my review is critical in nature, so don't be put off by the negative comments; i just do a better job of pointing out flaws than praising excellence.

is it the government's job to offset increases in the price of petrol, to protect consumers from the operations of the market? to bail out those who lacked the foresight to anticipate fluctuations in resource prices and take out mortgages they can't afford? surely the role of the government doesn't include micromanaging each household.

furthermore, considerations of the interest rate and monetary policy should not be considerations of a federal budget. moreover, we don't want costello undermining the goals of macfarlane or vice versa.
the two economic instruments - fiscal and monetary policy -should be independent, with different objectives and answering to separate economic issues.

"All in all, the tax cuts are definitely welcomed but with only the interest rate rises and high petrol prices, it has already eroded a large chunk into it. Other factors like child-care and education are yet to be included, and to think that a recession is imminent; the government need to look into other options to soften the blow."

you've only considered the general aggregate picture. microeconomic reforms such as changes to the superannuation framework and allowances for women re-entering the workforce are not insignificant in guiding the economy.

that is a rather controversial suggestion that a "recession is imminent", perhaps you can qualify that somewhat?

i'm not sure if the phrase "eroded a large chunk into it" would be accepted in a professional article. but you seem to be targeting "middle australia" with your piece, so that could have been a deliberate choice of words.

to that end, i think you did well in considering the plight of "middle australia" and their concerns, with notable coverage of certain parts of the budget.

If Petrol prices don't concern you, that means you have a fuel card. If thats the case does that work on any BP fuelling station? ^~

Hard hitting one-two by Eric...

Is Ed dazed?

Will he recover?

Find out in the next edition of "Hajime no Eric"

Lolz Ed.

Since you don't have to pay for petrol, you definitely won't need to think about the price. However, recall from Year 12 Economics, where inflation is calculated from a basket of goods and petrol prices is one of them. Higher inflation means RBA wants to raise IR. In light of that, one of major reasons why the RBA tightened its monetary policies was because of inflation "caused by international and domestic trends. (eg. world oil prices)"

Also, interest rates can affect credit card payments. So unless you are NOT using one, you are most likely to feel the pain.

EDIT...hmmm, Hash thinks this sounds rather harsh...Lolz, but if you have been to my economics and finance lectures, this sounds just like the lecturer's proves and explanations.... =3

PERTH?! That's in whoop whoop! Lolz. Congrats mate, so you going to be working in inner city areas or somewhere out of Metropolitan area?

EDIT: OH GUYS, can everyone do me a favour and go to here. Please rate my article after you've read it. It's for an assignment that's worth 25% and I would like you guys to rate it for me. Be honest, and I don't mind if you guys give it a crap rating...well preferably not(=þ)...but yeh...

THANKS!

Already missing your compendium of dirty jokes Ed.

dorrigo: yup got your name down. see you friday.

Congratulations Ed. Get that transfer to Brisbane and I might plan a trip...

Nice work Dorrigo!! Congratulations! We'll most certainly miss that friendly, bubbly face of yours. Perth! Gosh. Musto visit some time.

Times are changing.

Thesis A Report finished

can't believe I actually managed to get 70 pages out of the past 3 days.

I Think i'll still get p0wnd for the content tho...

Now I only need to worry about the immunology test in 18 hrs and the presentation on monday morning .. Thesis yr is so much fun!

So, who's up for some DOTA =P ?

Kwong, I would love to attend your graduation. Though I won't be available till 6pm due to thesis meetings and class.

See you all there!

[back to thesis]

Just looked Mr. Russell's Paradox.

My interpretation - wtf?

"ahhh"

Sounds like intellectual orgasm.

haha James.

Charlie - I plan to go but have class until 1pm on Fridays which is fairly unavoidable which sucks.
If I can get off early I definitely will but it can be hard, so I"ll most likely only be able to join from lunch onwards

I have now an idol: Bertrand Russell.

He is the only man I would want to be and be content. But somehow, if I were to be him, I feel I would diminish him. So I will remain myself and be content to read his scintillating work.

Ahhh.

For some reason, I think that man is somewhat biased.

Amazing Thesis v.2 - 9000 words in 1 day!

lol how considerate of you?

Positive review for Dave Chappelle's Block Party

By the way, the site is part of the Orble Blogs network that offers you the opportunity of getting paid to blog, for anyone who's interested.

Anyone heading to Kwong's graduation Friday week?

I was asking to confirm just for you Charlie XD

Spare us the butt floss =)

Hash, I've already critiqued Mac about that. Its record for low spyware and virus is not a badge that Mac has the right to be proud of because it is for the wrong reasons.

It was like how others were spouting on about how firefox was so cool coz it wasn't susceptible to spyware (this was a few years ago). Thats coz a) no one wrote malicious content for firefox b) the malicious groups out there (not including spyware fags who just want money) look kindly upon open source. It wasn't because of its robust design. But nevertheless an advantage is an advantage.

I'm in. Is it possible to dress in a thong with leather shoes?

the dress code is smart casual. i.e. no thongs (the footwear kind).

be sure to bring prove of age id too.

Hey John,

This new places looks fantastic. I'm in!

what was the dress code?

I'm in.

change of plans. linda's 21st celebrations will now be held at the belgian beer cafe.

Address:
135 Harrington Street
The Rocks NSW 2000.
Located in the old St. Patrick School Hall, just behind Grosvenor Place.

for information on the menu, please take a look at this link.

could everyone please rsvp again by wednesday 17th may as to whether you will still be attending or not. you can do that by contacting linda or myself through the prescribed medium*.

time, date, dress code and all other details are unchanged.

*presecribed medium includes sms, telephone, email, or post on this blog.

I rest my case

Pfft thats only 5,000 words a day. Its doable.

DOTA?

I got an orsome Idea for a reality tv show

THE AMAZING THESIS.

write a 10,000+ word thesis in 2 days!

not really
i jst keep some opinions to myself

e.g. i think paris s v pretty she just makes a fool outa herself
but by the end of the day we dont really care about what she does

yes, does that mean you've been fooling us all along Joyce? XD

Eve, WoW, DoTA woo!

whats dota?
haha i do give ppl that impression (I suppose I am nice)

My thesis has potential applications in dota..

I sure hope you worked in something about dota.

I was always under the impression you were nice and docile, joyce :p

I was never a fan of Paris Hilton and I never saw what guys see...until I looked on SMH when she appeared at E3. Proof that she can actually be attractive (but who knows what will happen when you take all the makeup, hairspray and possibly hair extensions off):


What a coincidence that it happened to be at a game expo.

hehe long time no post....

linda: Wish you a v happy birthday ^^ I probly cant make it coz of work commitments.
marc: I got told by an aunty that some of her tenants 'stalked' a guy and took heaps of pictures. (it could just be you).
you too cute to be missed xD.
yi: I have guys swear just as much ... at my work & lots Arabics (& indians) around ... they could be cool ... at some extent.

Latest thing I find out about equity trading (at Commsec) is that the people are so aggressive and quick! I feel like such an idiot. Many are so different to people I used to know (from uni)! they could be nice but sometimes in an intimidating way ... gees I dont know what I'm talking about haha. if you know what I'm talking about tell me whether you agree or not. coz srsly I'm really not too sure ...

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here on this most auspicious of days to honour those who have fallen in battle.

We do, of course, speak of those brave souls of CSE thesis A. Through their sacrifice we were able to live these full an comfortable lives. The blood of their bleeding fingers, the visage of their sleep-deprived faces has let us enter this most revered of events, named after our glorious leader Pres. Entatation, so that we may join together ...and laugh at them .

Amen

it sure is awesome.. but how professional is it? people might think that is your surname, or that your name is B. Utters or S. Butter..

And now begins, or rather continues the long sleepness nights that are the journey to thesis a completion..

C1

Haha, how awesome is that? My email address is butters[at]unsw

people from this group who have rsvped to say they're going (in no particular order):
eric
darren
jono
james
yi
benny
marc?

the deadline was last sunday, but we're still able to add numbers.

I dont think any of us have. I'm available if she hasn't cut off invitations.

Right on brother.

I haven't rsvped yet for Linda's thing...

Am I too late?

OMg, so much whining, neighbours kids this, neighbours music that ...

BE THANKFUL that its not ur pez constantly yelling at u.

What an awesome episode of top gear. I was shrieking and shouting the whole way...

Everything TV is so good now that each season is ending/starting :D

Who knew so many nerds in Nerds FC would be tone deaf? I thought it was a prerequisite to being a nerd to have some sort musical talent. Still, they have twice the balls that any of us here do, lol. (pun unintended)

Noise cancelling headphones.. good for blocking out the noise, and also a great way to keep your ears warm on those cold all-nighters which we should be getting used to by now.

This doesnt remove annoying subjects, but it prevents them affecting you to some degree.

Oh don't remind me of the HSC...
The guy next door had a huge stereo system that would be cranking out loud music all day long. So loud that the people across the street came over to complain!!!
And he would always play music with low bass, and that just travels so well through the wooden floor or even though the walls. o.O

I am still awaiting instructions on how to remove the annoying subjects.. and no, waiting 5-6 years is not a good option! Nor is sleeping earlier to wake up at 8am..

I feel ya, Yi. I had the same problem when studying for my Prelim/HSC. The kids at the back were a major problem. They just yelled and screamed. Not screams of laughter. Screams of hate against each of the siblings when something didn't go their way. For example they'd be playing sport and one of the siblings made an unfavourable call. This was then followed by the mother's vacuous shout for them to get along. The process repeated itself many times.

There is light at the end of the tunnel though. It seems after some 5-6 years, they have matured a bit and while they still do it sometimes, they are much better behaved and, from what I've heard, they have learned a bit about patience and duty.

Two new neighbours = 3 Arab kids screaming Allah and running around their backyard training facility dragging their heavy artillary around + 2 Aussie kids running back and forth with their 2 dogs barking after them all clearly reverberating through the wooden floor into my bedroom.
This won't be so much of a problem if they did it occasionally but it is a major fucken problem when they do it in concert starting at 8am each fucken morning. Why the fuck don't they go to school or pre-school or some shit.

Plans to remove WMD welcome.

Well I know Australia has only snatched less than 10 of the CSLs. Think 8 to be exact. I mean, for an extra 30k (I think), you lose your air con and various other luxury stuff, but you get extra Carbon Fibre...and a bit more power...

hahah Hash. Nice ads.
Funnily enough, my mum works for Lenovo in insurance.

haha Marc...are you talking about our drug deal acting thingy with Yi's thing?

I should have known where those chics saw me from!

"DON'T MOVE! SHUT UP!"

As I was walking to the office to start work today I was looking at the cars parked on the side. And I walked past a BMW M3 CSL

I thought these things exist only in Top Gear. It was like they described. They were so crazy about weight:power ratio that they made the radio unit an optional feature and the seats look paper-thin in comparison to other cars. Despite that, the car looked like an ordinary 3-series yet there it was, a 6-figure valued car sitting on the side of a road where I myself would be concerned to go at night.

Its so cool how its inconspicuous and looks just like any other 3-series out there. I watch too much Top Gear.

Anyways the most exciting thing to happen to me today (so far). Not that exciting, but if a Mercedes-McClaren SLR shows up I'll be sure to post up, john.

Hmm....this is a pretty good invention...I mean...i reckon you guys could've done this for your thesis...or maybe a holographic projector
or this!

Square Jaw.

yup just finished downloading.

john, top gear has just started screening season 8

lol, Marc has groupies.

Just one of the perks of being an ITS man.

You should've replied: 'Wait till you see me in bed'. =)

ROFL! You know how its obvious how people take photos with camera phones (how they hold the phone perpendicular). These chics (after consult, my desk partner said they were indos) came up to me and started taking photos. I tried to ignore them and attend to the customers, then like later on in the afternoon they came upto me again and asked if they could take my picture because I looked like a movie star they knew.

I'M FAMOUS! HEY, MA! I'M ON TV!

Woah language Marc, South park is finally getting to you.

I think the warning below is directed mainly against Jono, who is known for his leisurely 80 kph along elizabeth rd.

God fucking damn that poor Delizio. It really gives you something to think about next time you want to speed in residential/school zones.

Edit: pardon my french

woah that is pretty srs.

Is it tru? =P

Block partae.
competing with such things as -
M:I:III
Poseidon
Da Vinci Code
X3:TLS

Looks like its gonna make the most money during this season.

:: ALERT ::

There has been a leak in court sealed documents of last week, specifically in relation to Ashfield Local Court. All court sessions are adjourned until the source of the leak has been discovered and reprimanded.

Such actions are condemned by the judiciary as they discourage candour and disclosure in solicitor-client meetings.

Thank You

seef re-arrange
now I am home all by my lonesome

I'm down for saturday stuff - probably more soccer, and a bit of CFN. Also since soccer is free. :)

The other day when I was at MSY buying a router, the person in front of me had a return claim.

You know how MSY sells a noname brand graphics cards called Forsa? I know people go on about how much you can save by buying noname brands when the performance is just the same as big brands (only big brands include a lot of garbage like games which boost the price) eg Sparkle. Well Forsa is something you would want to steer clear of. This guy was returning it because he claimed the heatsink fell off during use and consequently fried the GPU...

Latest Intel.

Confirmed:
Spain and KJ will be at CFN at 1PM on Saturday.

I will reach there at 1PM also. We can play some star, some soccer, or both. See you there.

Irene's dinner event is at 5PM central.

For those who are free on saturday I say meet up at CFN at 6pm ?

Jono, for those that do not have 5 jobs and/or are spendthrift, there is a soution!

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PROBLEM 132.12B - Need $10,000 for an overseas trip
SOLUTION ::
People and society actually want to help you. Simply wear a large sign saying "Desperately need $10,000 for an overseas trip, Will u help me?" and walk down Oxford St. and onto Kings Cross from approx. 9pm till 1am. We at P.I.M.P garuantee that you will make your $10,000 in time for your Christmas trip.

I'm partially interested but yeah ~A$10k is...like well...errr. Especially when I blew like a 1/4 on a laptop.

I understand its an over-estimate but I also realise that if you go to a holiday without enough funds, then you're gonna end up having a bad time (which invalidates going on holiday in the first place).

Possibly too little too late - but I am free to attend any Saturday events. I have no shifts for this weekend, which is fantastic, since I will have between 30-35 hours' worth next week. Plus uni, thesis, and fun.

Charlie - You got it. CVA was where we got Baboon monitoring from, it was actually advertised in unsw careers website too I think. CVA has a presentation next Monday 8th from 6-7pm at YHA, 8th floor in Central (11 Rawson Pl) which Joel, Mikayla (physics girl) and I are going to, should be good, if you want to come let me know.

$US7500 is a very rough estimate, and knowing us is over-estimated.

Joel just checked return ticket Syd-Africa = $2400 AUD from memory, volunteering the Ugandan orphanage = $AU770, and Kili = $US2300 roughly. So $AU10 000 should be ...wealthy. I know it's a stupid amount of money to come up with in just a year's time, while you're in uni.

Yeah, Joel and I are confirmed as much as you can be for this time of year.

Go John!

I dun mind dissing FireFox and I am completely unbiased towards Mac's so go ahead and dis the Mac!

So what r the plans for sat nite?

if firefox crashes when going to a website with quicktime, i would think that either firefox or quicktime would be the problem.
or is that doing the unthinkable and criticising firefox or apple?

SEEEEFFFF canceled!

well, how about we keep the CFN night still happening

KJ's Bday event is cancelled due to the lack of numbers. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Looking at getting a keyboard to plug in. Was looking at apple supplies and this place came up:



And I was thinking...so close yet so far away

Is this where you got the info on baboon monitoring?

After watching Hotel Rwanda, I've developed an odd interest in going to Africa. But US$7500 is probably out of my league at this stage.

Leaning more towards volunteering in Latin America, notably:
Costa Rica

or

Ecuador and Galapagos Island

Looking at volunteering for around 2 weeks, followed by either guided programs or doing your own thing. Also considered climbing the Andes if fitness allows, the longest mountain ranges in the world.

Problem with most of these tours is they run right in the middle of the thesis.

So yeah, stuck in a limbo.

Is Joel confirmed?

Count me in Linda/John, though I will try to tell you in person as well.

Also will confirm my presence at KJ's thing tomorrow - starting a new job so don't know if need to work Sat.

I should post this in a better place, but I don't have one. We'll probably have a blog running for this trip later this year anyway.

---------------
Yo peoples,

I'm planning a trip over to Africa to do 2 things, Ascend Kilimanjaro and also participate in some volunteer programs. Approximate time of departure at the moment is around December until January depending on a few factors which so far has been determined to be:

1) Guided trips up Kili may have set dates
2) Time when there is preferable weather to ascend Kili
3) Set dates of volunteer programs
4) Peoples availability though since i'm planning, i'm going as long as there is a min of 2 of us

Notes for Kili Ascend

1) its not really a walk in a park, you will need gear and also to get fit
2) yeah it is dangerous this is a pic of the summit http://poc.purdue.org/galleries.php?g_id=140&p_id=31
3) cost is approx US$2500 from the stuff i've read just for the guide and required porters. yes i'm gonna use guides and porters. a guide is required by tanzania law. porters cus i'm not a professional mountaineer and i don't think this is really a time to prove my manhood by dying on a mountain.

This is a good site to read
1) Guide Company, http://www.africatravelresource.com/africa/E/tanzania/accommodation/N/T65-kilimanjaro/01.htm
2) A persons diary on his climb, http://poc.purdue.org/galleries.php?g_id=140

Notes for Voluteering

Found a few volunteer programs which are available and they do cost money.

1) Baboon monitoring in South Africa
2) Building an orphanage in Uganda, http://www.volunteering.org.au/iv_group_placements_p.htm AU$770
3) Re-supplying of various HIV/Aids hospitals in Sth Africa, Botswana, Namibia and finally to Zambia. This program is on hold but does sound good. US$1250
http://www.volunteering.org.au/south_af_p.html

Pretty much the idea behind volunteering apart from being happy nice humans, is to explore more of africa while we are there without being killed, again dying is not really what i'm into at the moment.

So all up i think the cost of this excursion will be at least US$7500 upwards for both activities. So if you are interested then give a yell back and i'll keep you updated with info. Also any stuff u know will be useful too like companies friends have gone with and volunteer groups etc.

Anyways this is the end of the blurb,

take it easy,

Joel & Jono

Hey guys,

I hope you're keeping the Friday night of May 19th free, because I would love to see you at my birthday/catch up session!

Feel free to bring your partner, and that unique laugh of yours =P

Here are the final details:

DATE: Friday 19th May

TIME: 7:30pm onwards

PLACE: Zachary's (28-30 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross)

RSVP: Sunday 7th May to either John or myself.

Hope to see you there!

P.S Don't worry about bringing presents, just pay for yourself =) It'll be aproximately $20 per person for food. If you would like to know what the cocktail menu entails, just give me a holla.

Slipstreaming SP2 means simplistically:
1. copy i386 directory from CD to hard drive.
2. download SP2.
3. run something like "update.exe -s [directory of i386]
4. reburn the slipstreamed i386 onto a bootable disk.

Google keywords "create bootable slipstream sp2 windows xp"..
Oh what the heck


Alternatively, download a ready made WinXP with SP2 here. ;)

Hash, thats what happened to me before when we were discussing Macs vs PC. I had a lovely post all planned out and Firefox crashed -.-

This is an intel comp. XP is supposed to run on this. The only thing natively incompatible would probably be the keyboard (and maybe trackpad - single button).

The failure to install SP2 could have been the Mac obstructing the installation but the site specifically said to use an SP2 cd. Unfortunately I did not have such a thing and thought I could use the original then install SP2. Bad choice. Cost me many hours. I don't blame Mac or MS. I blame intel, those fags, for pushing their drivers onto Windows Update - single point of failure?

nah, it was so the Mac site that did it.
They intentionally kill ur comp if ur running apple software.
It was QUICKTIME that caused the crash

Hash,
Having had two posts discussing the mac vs. pc battle wiped (marc's was the first) due to PC incompetence, you'd think the debate is already over. Wait. It is.
:D

I had an orsome 14 point post addressing all the criteria on y Mac claims its better than PC.

To gather further evidence, I decided to look at the Mac v. PC ads again. I got a different ad than the first time, so I refeshed. Then Mozilla died on me ...

It killed the post ... and my argument.

I can only hold up Marc's example - Mac's running anything other than standardized software run into issues, and their ITS staff are much less proficient in handling these issues than Windows on PC staff.

And who doesn't read the Orsome Orsome Computer Review Weekly Journal.

MacBook site said they specifically needed the Windows XP SP2 version but did not say that the original would not work.

Slipstreaming meaning adding the install file onto the image? If so I don't see how that will help. The downloading is not the problem. The install is. It won't install due to some fkn weird problem. I have no ftp so I can't hyperlink it but I'll send it via email and see what you think yourself.

It seems intel made the decision to let Microsoft handle their chipset drivers so they won't have to which means if you don't have a legit key to download the SP in the first place then your computer won't be operational. In my case this stroke of genious meant that a person as myself with a valid key will get screwed over because I can't install the SP which means my laptop is without arms or legs.

Have you tried slipstreaming SP2 into your WinXP CD? Might work.. but you'll need to burn a new CD and reinstall WinXP. Hopefully you haven't changed the desktop background yet. ;)

Just spent the last 24 hrs trying to install Service Pack 2 on WinXP (because I don't have WinXP SP2 disc - only the original). I even called up MS technicians who couldn't help. The bloody thing won't intall because theres some goddamn error. I have 26GB free and it says I'm out of space. Because I can't install SP2, I can't install the Mac software to configure the laptop.

I'm raging out here. Have not done a single fucking thing today. I don't need this shit.

Marc,
Congradulations. Welcome to mac land. Hope you like it here. The best free FTP program on the mac is Cyberduck. Google will find it.
Which mirror picture?

KJ,
Still panning out my Saturday. Will make it if I can.

Check out these new mac ads. Hash won't like them.
http://www.apple.com/getamac/

Sorry KJ, but this weekend is a total mess. :(

A more important announcement has overshadowed KJs birthday.

My MacBook Pro has arrived. I repeat, MacBook Pro has arrived.

Pix will ensue. Am installing Boot Camp and XP right now and trying to figure out how FTP on a mac XD

A few comments:

The superdrive is creepy. I'm expecting it to operate like a car radio cd slot but its ferocious. You stick it in 2/3 and after that it sucks it in and sounds like its crunching on it. Quite unpleasant actually.

Only 2 USB ports which sux0rs. I have an LPT printer that I don't want to give up so I'll be using an old laptop to print stuff instead. No microphone socket for internet chat etc.

James, that mirror picture is seared in my mind.

Hey,

I won't be able to go to the Saturday thing, since I have an exam at 11am ON A SATURDAY. Yes, this goes to prove that accountants have NO LIFE, and being the last accounting subject, we are getting prepared to the next 40 or so years...

At night, I need to take my dad to the airport, so no CFN for me...plus I have a finance assignment due on Monday. Hooray for a busy weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KJ, in advance. =D

In relation to KJ's Birthday this Friday, as mentioned in the wikiBulletin

KJ has asked me to put forward this plan of activities to celebrate his birthday.

WHAT & WHERE: BBQ Lunch-type thing at Shelly Beach (or could be spelt Shelley) around Manly. This will then be followed by the weekly ALL NIGHT CFN or similar activity.

WHEN: SATURDAY, not Friday. More people should be free then... right? Probably from 11-12 onwards until we cant fight off the urge to go to CFN

WHO: You know who you are, and you probably know who else should be invited.

WHY: Because he's turning 22 of couse.. and Shelly Beach has a great view, and he misses his Star so so very much...

If something isnt right for you about this, make some noise to KJ or the blog. Otherwise, thats the plan..

Are you down?

haha Charlie...yay for scrubs. Ahh memories.

This is pretty funny.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1965201633474732883&pl=true

Also,
Ronaldo. Pretty amazing stuff.

Finally I think Marc in particular would get a kick out of this one

The next time you have surgery, you'll want Yi inside of you.

Yi, the day you stop being an absolute champion is probably the day I die. Which may or may not already have happened (me dieing).

I don't know how else to say thanks yet...but at the minimum you can expect some sort of romantic dinner with just the two of us, by the seaside, sipping champagne to pavarotti music. Well, maybe not the seaside, the champagne or the pavarotti music, but definitely some sort of romantic dinner. And definitely a section in my thesis acknowledgements section.

scp -r [<username>@<hostname>:]<source directory> [<username>@<hostname>:]<destination directory>

The [<username>@<hostname>:] bits are optional and is required only if the source or destination directory is on a remote machine. The -r copies directories recursively. Just think of scp as an advanced cp, you can have the optional bits to specify remote machines.

man scp
Use "/" within man to search for strings.
A possible sequence of commands:
man scp
/recursive

to copy all files within dir1 to dir2,
cp dir1/* dir2

back to hammering away at the ethics essays...

Goddam,I thought Linus was similar to dos...guess not...But Jono, look at the uniform buying from another POV! If you keep all your receipts, and can link the use of the clothing/equipment to work, you can get tax returns at the end of May!

Haha Kwong! He's aliiiivveeeeeee
Very cool article. How on earth you came across it I don't know.

Don't get me wrong, Linux is great for certain things, you just need to know how to use it, which I am 97% inept in. Oh I know "df" Displays the file system :)

Also, I have another job now. Working at the outdoor gear store Snowgum, right next to Mountain Equipment (and all the other stores near Aktiv8 too) on Kent St in Town Hall. Will be working there a fair bit, on the order or 2-3 days a week. Really scary, I"m on the payroll for...5 jobs. Boeing, Aktiv8, Grand Flash Productions (Bartendering), Quartermoon (Waitering) and now Snowgum. And four of them may call on me at any one time, very scary. Oh well, looks like Snowgum will become much more routine. Also need to buy lots of gear, they have a bit of a dress standard it seems, you can only wear the gear they sell (for tops and shoes, any neat jeans will be fine). So it's shopping time with immediate staff discounts yay. I needed a new pair of good shoes.

[edit: Benny you're right I didn't think about that, I was so disgruntled at just the damn silliness of not being able to figure out how to move a darn fold. It's getting very very frustrating, and would be a million times worse without Yi's help so far (Can't thankyou enough Yi) ]

B737 lands at Purdue University Airport

Did someone say they wanted to murder someone?
Where do I sign up?

Cool stuff Marc,

hahah Jono you know...
You could have zipped the folder and then ftped that zip file then unzip it XD

well, I can tell u one thing - It would not be any different on a Mac =P

Try googling it if u have a problem.

[Edit from Jono: Silly Marc! I know you read dis: "Frigg'n google isn't even helping,..."]

Edit: Sorry 2:30am

Allow me to vent some frustration at Linux if you will. It's been too long a frigging day.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
You can't even copy a frigg'ng directory from one computer to another server using FTP (or SFTP) can you? Frigg'n google isn't even helping, just tells you how to copy all of one type of file e.g. *.jpg using mget/mput. and I'm like...no...I want to copy a direcotry of a myriad of different bloody files, pisshead. and no, mput *.* doesn't work to copy all files, especialy if there are subdirectories-a-million. Mother frigg'n stupid. I'm sure there's probably some really simple way to copy directories, which I haven't figured out, but I"m so frigg'n tired of spending 15-20 minutes on each stupid little syntax problem like unzipping and crap to bloody do my damn thesis. argh. Will murder someone soon.

And...vented.