It's my life

Echo

2009-11-10T03:42:22Z

Wow... I forgot I had this... does anyone use LJ anymore or have we all moved on???

Setting the alarm for ‘Volcano Day’

2008-10-20T14:46:07Z

In many ways my Perth based existence has been working up to this very point; the launch of a software product three years in the making in T Minus 10 days and counting.

For the past three years I have been working as a software architect for a company which among other things specializes in signage supplies for sign businesses. This includes and is not limited to the supply of plastics for making the signs and a wide range of rotary and laser engraving hardware that cut on the plastic materials.

The software that I have been co-developing is the second generation of a very successful product originally released in 1991, which allows the user to design the layout of the sign(s) that they intend to engrave in a visual way, similar to how Microsoft Publisher is for flyers.
This is by far the biggest and longest running project I have ever undertaken. I had only wished we had taken more detail timesheets for this project; the hours would have been astronomical.

Three years ago when I was initially given this project, fresh from university, I remember scheduling 6 months for the project to be completed within. Needless to say, I have learnt a considerable amount about software development in industry over the three years it has actually taken. What started as a simple rehash of the old program from Pascal to a C Win32 platform has evolved into a more advanced and slick C Win32 / C# .NET amalgamation. I couldn’t be prouder.

So this is what I have been developing this last couple of years, and furthermore, this is what has consumed my life over the last couple of months to such a point a few of my colleagues are convinced I have a bed tucked away in the corner of my office.

On the 28th of this month we will be unveiling the software package to the world at the largest signage expo in the southern hemisphere: the Visual Impact and Image Expo, held in Darling Harbour, Sydney.

So what comes after this? Well software wise it is still far from the end, there will be service packs, new upgrades and features made available (we already have a list for new features), Microsoft Windows 7 will then be upon us which will inevitably lead to more updates and service packs.

As for me, well, my world will start to slow down and my feet will get re-acquainted with the ground, for a short while at least until I determine where I want to go from there; stay on and continue riding the software development train, or perhaps get off and work in the ski fields of Canada for six months… or there’s joining a expedition in Antarctica for six months to a year… or maybe go to tafe/uni and study geology and race out to the mines with my pick axe in hand… so many possibilities… I can’t wait!

I suppose the other thing to look forward to in the short term is going back to Sydney after only just returning from a weeklong trip four days ago for my Cousin's wedding / Family reunion. Sydney really has to be one of the most amazing cities I have been to.

This upcoming trip will be my sixth in three years, so it is reasonable to say I am getting acquainted with Sydney rather well; definitely well enough to be comfortable referring to it as my second home (though by the second trip I was already saying that once I knew how to get to any of the Starbucks coffee shops from anywhere in the city).

Now, not only do I know the location of many great coffee shops (none of them a Starbucks by the way), I also know the bus networks, my favorite Thai restaurants, and have a couple of favorite bars both in and around the city. The bars are fantastic, featuring a standard bar drinking area, then adjacent to this or above on the next floor a casual restaurant, then the level above a small theatre with another bar where old B grade horror flicks and classical films are shown on a weekly basis free of charge.

Yes, as much as the next ten days are going to be mind exhaustingly full on, I am looking forward to returning to my east-side home.

metim al ahcheem

2008-05-25T10:00:21Z

metimal al ahcheem translated from Hebrew it means dying on living which in turn is a phrase of crazy about life.

In this fast paced society we find ourselves living in it is still surprising to see just how slow some people move. Usually the slowest of people are in fact the fastest at their day to day activities, these people usually have a lot on the go and as such feel the pressures of the world falling around them. They become so caught up in the daily activities of their lives such as work, finance and security, that if they were to die tomorrow they would be the ones with the most regrets – for simply doing the least with their lives.

There would be regrets; not spending enough time with their children as they grew up, not travelling and seeing the world, not finding the time to let yourself fall in love or simply never helping the stranger next to you.

It’s not because these people are selfish and heartless, they had always intended on travelling, starting a family of love and helping others, it just never coincided with their busy lives of the unending present – as each day pressed on these ideas and dreams were shelved for the following day.

Before one could even catch their breath, the days turned to weeks, which turned to months and the months turned into years.

I am one of these people.

Recently I have begun to feel more conscious of the grains of sand seeping through the hourglass that is my life. And as yet, at a quarter century of age, I have not fully discovered my calling and I am sorry for the distress this has caused those closest to me. With each grain that passes by I sometimes feel that perhaps rather than shelving the idea for tomorrow I should make the leap and take action now.

Its moments like these that make me realize I have become so self absorbed in my daily life that I sometimes fail to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. There are so many wonders of the world I wish to experience such as working in the snow fields of Canada for a year or so, and even living in another country. Stand on the forward hull of a ship as it shears through ice glaciers on route to Antarctica. Explore the many wonders of ancient civilizations such as the great pyramids of Giza. Relearn the history of World War II which ultimately resulted in the shaping of the modern world from the countries where it all happened journeying through Germany all the way to Great Britain.

Some of these experiences can be fulfilled through a holiday, others require greater commitment. But these dreams are simply desires of travel and exploration. Although it may be a primary passion of mine, there is much more to me than that.

I wish to become fearless, to make a stand and help complete strangers that I come across in my travels. There are over 6 billion people in this world and right now, right this very second as you read these very words there are scared, frightened people in this world, shrouded by darkness, all alone. If I can only just help a single individual back into the light, I’d know my existence has meant something.

Why is it that when death is at our door we suddenly see the world in full colour, that we take the time to notice the small insignificant things such as the feeling the evening coastal breeze makes against your face? It is almost as if, during this time, our blinkers are removed and the beauty of the world, of life itself is not withheld from our perception for the first time since we were innocent kids.

I do not intend to await for deaths knock before my eyes become wide open. I am crazy about living and exploring this world and I know there is a lot of good that can be done through individuals. I intend to make a difference. How about you?

Ok, that’s enough philosophical dribble for one session, time to let reality loose and enjoy watching the latest Indiana Jones installment La Premier style ;)

3quinox @ 2008-04-11T22:55:00

2008-04-11T14:55:17Z

It's frustrating, you give up one thing and to balance yourself out you end up indulging in something else more or something new :(

On Easter day this year I decided to give up drinking until my cousins wedding in October, October 10 to be exact. I did so, cos it came apparent to my self that my health was suffering from the consistency of spirits i was consuming on a weekly basis and that maintaining that kind of consistency for long term certainly couldn’t be good for me.

However, i have noticed now my intake of chips has increased from a couple of times a week to every day, whether it be a part of my lunch or I detour through the maccas drive through on the way home for a med fries and coke..

So now I am gonna start laying off the fries... i just hope the next thing i have a craving for is healthy...

3quinox @ 2008-03-21T02:46:00

2008-03-20T17:40:35Z

I have been up till this hour pretty much every day this last week... why dont i feel tired?

Heart and Soul

2008-02-12T14:47:19Z

I am pouring my heart and soul into a work project at the moment, giving it everything I have, which thus far has resulted in pretty long hours throughout the day, only really giving way to sleep… something our frail human bodies naturally surcome to once they have hit their caffeine peak.

The project is hush-hush at the moment, something I am working on in the shadow of more urgent projects, who’s stigma has been hanging around for what seems like a lifetime, though in reality be it only two or so years. Fortunately the product will be at what industry considers ‘release-candidate’ stage shortly, I can say without shadow of doubt I will not miss it.

I have moved on, I was forced to, in the name of survival and sanity, in vein efforts to keep my mind and imagination from growing stale from working on the same project for so many years. This new project, although old in nature, is at least built around a new programming language – C# (C Sharp). Its funny, but so true that the small challenges presented on a daily basis for the past week in learning a new programming language such as C# has kept me sane and somewhat renewed my faith in the software engineering industry. It has been and continues to be a most refreshing experience from languages such as C and C++ (Win32 API) which I have spent the last three years using.

There is still so much I have yet to learn and to exploit in C#, but from the little experience I have had with it thus far, well, everything about it just makes so much sense.

Soy-Coffee tastes so good!

2008-01-29T07:42:13Z

and by Soy-Coffee i simply mean a flat white with Soy milk rather than ordinary milk from a cow which some sicko decided to squeeze and then drink the produce of some time around the dawn of creation...

Why am I drinking Soy? well ever since I started I have been feeling a lot better... In the past I have fluctuated between being lactose intolerant to non-lactose... but recently it has escalated to almost anything dairy, be it milk, chocolate... tho thankfully i can still have cheese in moderation, so I haven't had to ditch my all time fav meals Pizza and Lasagna... damn those Italians are great: fantastic country side, wonderful language, hot chicks and to top it off FANTASTIC food!!!

Anyway, I have just started back up at work again (for the third time this year), as Tegz and myself escaped to Esperance for a week of R&R and to see that if we would drive each other insane from spending a week in constant contact. Luckily for me I still have my hair, and Tegan faired pretty well too. So all up, had a fantastic trip.

The weather was fantastic, it improved with every day we were away, in fact, i even came back with a tan :) (that is after the burning had subsided -- whoops) The beaches were picturesque - sand as white as snow, bay of isles all around, pods of dolphins, sea lions... it was simply beautiful... and the crystal clear water looked like something from a Hawaii brochure except the water was fudging COLD! (but that's what being so close to Antarctica does)

Anyway, back home now; cropping and stitching the panoramic shots I took with Tegan during sunset and sunrise... the Lancer was a pleasure to drive long distance, and was exceptionally economical too. Technically* capable of getting as far as Ravensthorpe on a single tank. So I will definitely be driving it across to Sydney later in the year.

*Although we filled up in Lake King, well before empty, according to the mileage and the fuel consumed, we could of made it to Ravensthorpe. The economical speed being cruising at 115km/h - anything over 120kph starts sucking away the tank.

2008

2008-01-01T03:24:06Z

It couldn’t of arrived any sooner. 2007 was one stellar year to say the very least. Full of a great many accomplishments, some of which I am very proud of and others not so proud. But needless to say, in retrospect, it was a year well lived.

Just to touch on some of the finer points of what shaped 2007; my mum being diagnosed with breast cancer.. ouch… me spewing in the side drawer of a penthouse suite in Sydney and my boss cleaning it up for me the following morning... oops… falling in love with Tegz.. huzzah … buying a new car.. zoom-zoom… and getting a raise…

2007 also carried its fair share of emotional and psychological turmoil for me as well. And though I have come to grips with most of them, I am looking forward to a smoother 2008.

A great many plans are being made for the year of 2008; the promise of a great deal of international travel through work… a road trip to the east coast in my Lancer… just to name a few…

I am looking very much forward to the year ahead; I intend on making it, the best year of them all…

I can already feel this is gonna be a great year!! I made it through New Years Eve without a hangover! Woot!

In the spirit of Christmas/

2007-12-21T16:34:00Z

Well Friday 21^st for me meant the last day of work for the year :) Something I couldn’t be happier about!! I love my job, but wow I have soo been looking forward to this break. Even if it is only for a week.

Today we closed shop at 1.00 and all headed over to the Botanical Mini Golf grounds in Joondalup to whack a few golf balls about and have afternoon tea together.. The first game I was rather average at; the girls were messing around and the game wasn’t taken too seriously. In the competitive spirit us blokes hold dear, a second game was arranged which only us blokes participated in, leaving the girls to mingle amongst themselves.. I came out victorious winning with 37 points :) This honor scored me a bottle of wine and a block of chocolate :)

After adjourning to freshen up, we later regrouped at the Greenwood Tavern for some fine dining and plenty of drinking and celebrating… I have never in my life had so much fun with a group of people… the party had it all; plenty of drinks, fine food, great laughs and to top it off all hierarchical barriers torn town…. Which ultimately ended up in a ice cube fight… although us guys were out numbered, the girls did suffer from their low cut tops :P

I wont be surprised if we are not welcome back at the tavern next year… but hey, it was bloody good fun :)

What ever you do... DON'T BLINK!

2007-12-04T14:20:49Z

Wow this month is flying already. I just read a friends new post, it was dated the 3rd of December.... Scrolling up my Live Journal Friends list thinking it was the 3rd today, i was surprised to see a post from another friend dated 04 Dec. From this point, i checked my clock in the Windows system tray, and yep.. its the 5th Dec... And.... with the time being what it is, i have little over 40min until its the 6th of December!!!

OMG!

The rules of engagement

2007-11-26T07:52:33Z

It has been a pretty full on weekend starting with two mates of mine tying the knot on Saturday (Congrats to Nathan & Bec), followed by an experimental brunch (turned lunch) the following day… which I think turned out pretty well… BBQ toasted sandwiches, bacon, eggs, plenty of OJ, champagne, pancakes…

As always though, the weekend seems to go to fast, and in a blink of an eye find myself sitting at my work desk…

Just a few moments ago, word got out that Pete & Mel are now a family, with a little girl, as yet unnamed.. Congratulations guys!!!

So many friends of mine are now either married or newly engaged, and now the first of many families has begun. A new chapter of life has started without me even realizing it…

For a while I have been umming and arring over a proper online web presence… and I don’t mean via the means of facebook, myspace or live journal, but an online presence where I can upload photos, blog about particular things, more as a showcase of me and my life. Possibly something I may oneday slap the url on the back of a business card; a website containing samples of my creative works, projects, my cv… something like a online portfolio… This portfolio, is online now, currently getting populated… will this replace my live journal? Who knows…

I got a DVD pack from my sister full of war flicks; so far, I have seen ‘Tears of the Sun’ (Monica Bellucci/Bruce Willis) and ‘Black Hawk Down’ (starring practically everyone from ‘Pear Harbor’ with the exception of Affleck and Beckinsale)

Both were fantastic films… I think ‘Full Metal Jacket’ is next on my list…

3quinox @ 2007-11-23T15:31:00

2007-11-23T06:33:32Z

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

I am curious to see if the statistic of 55/100 is anywhere near accurate... please comment if you have difficulty reading the above out loud fluently.

XXIV

2007-11-20T13:18:36Z

As the old saying goes; 'another year older, another year wiser'. I am not so sure about being wiser, but of late, I have felt a bit older.,, or more to the point aware of my own mortality... Never the less, life for the moment is good, and I plan on continuing to ride this wave out.

My 23rd year has seen through many achievements; continuing success at a job I do love (tho often whine about), a new Mitsubishi Lancer Limited Edition which is a thrill every time i am behind the wheel, the mutual love and appreciation of a fantastic group of friends and last but not least, a girl who I love dearly who makes me feel like the luckiest man alive.

I am not even 24 yet and I have celebrated my Birthday four times in as many days. Saturday night Tegan took me out to dinner at the Sanctuary Restaurant in Bunbury. I had never been before, and I do hope it is not the last time I go either, the food was magnificent.. and the desserts... OMG... two words... Espresso Cheesecake.. It was fantastic :) Sunday saw me have a family dinner at home in Eaton along with Tegz and my Aunt and Uncle from Canberra who were over visiting Mum. That night Mum cooked up a storm and we had Pork Roast -- and there was cake. Similarly, there was also cake Monday night at a party hosted by some of my friends, where we proceeded to have a BBQ dinner and watch all of the short films Pixar Animation Studios had produced since 1984. Tuesday, at work, I took what was left of the chocolate mud cake in, and well, my birthday was celebrated all over again... My boss from Sydney even flew in for the event.. well, perhaps not just for my birthday... And tomorrow night, I have dinner at my Aunts place for my actual birthday.

So yeah, with so much celebration, its impossible to not feel loved. I am very fortunate.

I have just finished watching yet another behind the scenes doco of Pixar Animation Studios, this one specifically being on the origin of the company and how it has gotten to where it is today, in a cozy bed sleeping between Mickey and Minnie (aka Disney Corporation). Watching it has only further assured me what I realised years before, from watching a tour of Pixar Studios amongst the bonus materials on the Monsters Inc DVD... I so want to work at Pixar. Everything from the way of life, to their approach to work, their values, how they encourage their development staff to rise up to the challenge by giving them opportunities to direct and develop animated short films... everything about it, is so what I would love to do. In many ways, I am blessed with similar freedoms and lifestyles at Cipher Technology, where I currently work. I have staff I can joke with and are fun to be around, I have my own environment; my office, which I can do with as I wish... at the moment I am exploring the contemporary Picasso office design... its a mess. So although my dream company to work for is across the Atlantic (depending on which way you fly around the globe that is), I still have an opportunity here to make where I currently am special, and plan on doing so :)

Thats not to say that one day I wont have an office at Pixar, for I most certainly will.

As for the current discovery of my own mortality (hopefully its just a temporary thing), I am making strides to improve my lifestyle... regular exercise in the form of riding being one of them... and healthier eating; and I don’t mean no maccas etc, I don’t eat much fast food in the first place... I just mean healthier eating... ie, no Lamb, no too well or over cooked meats, avoiding sausages wherever possible. Or alternatively, eating meats such as chicken, fish (but small fish, not big fish which would contain higher traces of mercury), kangaroo (as this meat contains practically zero fat), and steak which is lightly cooked, and not to mention a considerable increase in the number of greens I eat, and an increase update in water (8 glasses a day is the recommended intake).

So there you go, my goal for the coming year has been laid out – Live life happy, healthy and to the full.

Will you light my candle?

2007-11-05T10:16:24Z

Well today has been a rather full on day at work. The Symmetry project which I have been co-developing the past couple of years is progressing nicely... however that is not the only project I currently have on the go... and today I started to pay for my ignorance of not allocating more time to these other projects.

The two other projects being a new website for our parent company (as the current one is seriously dated... I developed the current one while I still worked for Gateway Internet Services in Bunbury) and completion of MORE additions to a Medical related product i am very eager to see the hind end of... talk about damn scope creep... but can you really do anything about the client requesting further changes and additions at the last minute when the order comes directly from your boss? All you can really do is smile and get along with the job...

Although the lesser important out of the two is the website, i began work on the design today... (graphic design relaxes me and helps me to focus -- the results are quite fantastic... but company privacy prevents me from linking to it atm while it is still under development). The rest of the day (2hrs of it) were spent tearing my hair out at writing out step by step how I should handle the solution for the other project... I think I have it figured...

So with that all done, I return home.. to eat and be merry and like a solider on a distant battlefield await the dawn.

The weekend gone was FANTASTIC... which I suppose made today all the more unbearable :P I so wished it was the weekend over again...

Arrived in Bunbury at 5pm on Friday, driving instantly around to see Tegan -- the 200km trip was so worth it just to see her gorgeous smile. The following night along with her family we went to Mojos for a scrumptious dinner (I had the Dardy beef fillet with some Mojos Classic White) followed by seeing RENT at the Bunbury Entertainment Centre. The production was fantastic, a musical set in New York during the depression. The production included some big names such as Nikki Webster and some dude from Home and Away whos name escapes me... all up, it was very well done.

Anyway, time for some TV therapy before I consider giving further thought to work:
On the box tonight: Stargate Atlantis, Las Vegas and Top Gear :)

That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now, shall we discuss payment?

2007-10-30T14:07:54Z

Its been a relatively fast paced couple of weeks as my development team hurtles ever so closely to a sufficient release candidate for our next gen signage development software. I say sufficient in our own eyes. Truth is we surpassed the original requirements of a release candidate months ago, but like all eager developers with imaginations, thriving under pressure and pushing the envelope further and further with absolute no regard for schedule and project scope we kept adding onto the program.

However, now the time has come to put on another coat of polish on the now ready release, add glossy photos and diagrams to the user manual and for a final touch, wrap it up with a pretty red bow. It has been a product 2 and a half years in the making, and a much anticipated product years before that, with generation 1 of the product hitting PC’s in the early 1990s (still making sales today mind you).

The final release candidate will hopefully be shrink-wrapped by the end of this week for initial pre-release trials to some of our perspective clients in Belgium, Phoenix and of course Perth.

And maybe by then my body clock will be able to get into some kind of regular pattern… other than the fact I had to wind my clocks forward; only two; my mobile and car clock (since I don’t currently own a watch), I haven’t felt the affects of day light saving… and its got nothing to do with my supreme macho persona, or the fact that five minutes ago I was dressed as a 1941 RAF Officer… its just simply due to my body clock being so messed up with all kinds of bizarre work hours… and the best part is I don’t mind it at all… I love my job, the daily challenges it brings and the crazy people I work with who I am happy to call mates.

It's 1941. The height of the London Blitz. The height of the German bombing campaign. But something else has fallen on London, a fully-equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth. And I know where it is. Because I parked it. If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is gonna fall on it and destroy it forever. That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now, shall we discuss payment? – Captain Jack Harkness to Rose Tyler

An Idea...

2007-10-19T13:25:27Z

New years resolution in the making... although i may need to start it early...

I have decided that in 2007/08 I want to go to a Wildcats game (never been), Eagles AFL (been only once in 2005), and to the speedway... inject myself with a little bit of sporting culture so to speak...

The next wildcats game is on 10/11 at Challenge..

Other ideas for 2008 include, jumping out of an plane and V8 racing.... umm yeah -- i am serious! ;)

If you think you’ve won, you never saw me change the game we were playing

2007-10-18T03:05:40Z

Ahh today is going to be a good day, and the night will be even better thanks to my shipment arriving from Sittella winery arriving at work 20 minutes ago. The purchase being two bottles of Liqueur Verdelho to replace the one bottle I finished in March this year..

“A balanced combination of sweet, youthful, fortified Verdelho with more mature Pedro Ximinez, Muscat and Verdelho. Aromas of creamed honey, mandarin pel and caramel/toffee complexity. The palate is sweet, rich and luscious with intense flavours of peach, apricot jam, mocha and honey.”

Speaking of my love of wine, one of the investment ideas I have come up with of late is to secure and store a couple of cases of Bordeaux wine from a vineyard in France. This will be one of those long term investments, since the only bottles I will be able to afford will be from the year 2000 vintage onwards at a cost varying around USD$500 a bottle…

On the topic of investments, to great surprise (well, now that I think about it.. not really), I came into work the Monday following the Telethon to be confronted by a fully autographed and framed number 3 Eagles jersey and an ecstatically happy co-worker who had purchased the jersey at a party on Friday night before it could be donated to Telethon :) – the Jersey features all the autographs from the players in one of the finals either 1992 or 1994? (including Chris’s of course) I am not a big enough Eagles historian to pinpoint it exactly (please forgive me Mel ;)

Although the office is now as secure as fort Knox due to a breaking and robbery that occurred a couple of weeks ago, to which my watch that I purchased while in Las Vegas, petty cash and some tools fell victim to, I believe the jersey will be finding its home on the wall of the owners trophy room along with other memorabilia.

I was recently introduced to the ‘Animation vs Animator’ series. It is a three part flash series (the third one being interactive – you play the Animator) about a Macromedia Flash stick figure that comes to life within the program. The magical properties of this occur in the specification of the ‘Object Name’ that is given to the stick figure.. ie ‘Victim’ or ‘The Chosen One’ (where he turns into a matrix/neo fighting stick figure)… well worth a look, especially if you are familiar with Macromedia Flash.

We have all the time in the world

2007-09-12T07:43:37Z

or at least, that's what I have been told...

Late August had been pretty dull due to me having the flu (twice) over the last four weeks, fortunately that is all over with now, the good doctor clearing me of infection last Wednesday, although I still don’t sound right i have been told it will all clear up over time...

Fortunately for me I was well enough to take last Friday off and spend it with Mum as she went in for her fifth out of six chemotherapy treatments... was quite interesting seeing how the nurses administered it. The treatment went for about four hours. The Bunbury hospital treats approx 60 to 70 people a week... with treatments usually every month, approximately 280 people are going in for Chemotherapy at the Bunbury health campus. The nurses there are a fantastic bunch tho, it was great to see the patients in the very best of hands.

The hospital food is still yuck tho ;)

In addition to having Friday off, I also had the following Monday off for the first service of my Lancer, which just made it into its service under warranty (120km away from voiding a 10 year warranty)... it was due to go in for its 1500km service... by the time i could get it booked in, I had clocked up 2880km...

So yes, that means I had a wonderful four-day weekend in Bunbury where much of the time I was able to spend with my incredible girlfriend. :) Which for me was a pretty big deal, since I had been too sick previous weeks to see her.

I think my feet have been on the ground for too long and the travel bug is gnawing away at me more than ever... I have come up with ways to subdue the affect in the form of road trips (which was part of the reason for buying the Lancer)... a couple are in the process of early planning, including Esperance (2007) and one to Sydney (2008)... but lately i have had the strong urge to fly out there and see New Zealand (and no, it has nothing to do with Paris Hilton looking for a Zealander... tho that has left me wondering why..) and Japan - which I have always wanted to visit, but held off on the fact that it is too unfamiliar unlike western countries... Tho I guess my perspective on this has changed with Tegz knowing her way around a bit.. at least, a greater deal more than me :)

Work has been going well.. between the number of sick days and flexi days taken, I think I have spent more time off over the last four weeks than at work :P but all that is starting to change... fortunately though, some projects are slowly but surely beginning to wrap up, so hopefully i can look forward to a nice long December break..

Pimping LiveJournal

2007-09-04T09:07:15Z

FOR SALE

Mitsubishi Magna Elite (1989)
4 Speed Auto
Cruise Control
5 Alloy Set
Interior and Exterior in great condition
Vehicle done 178,000km
Motor has done 100,000km (new second motor)
Unleaded
Remote Central Locking and Alarm System
Electronic Dash
Electric Windows
Air Conditioning

In great condition!

asking price... $1200.00 -- negotiable

One

2007-09-01T12:56:50Z

I feel ever so slightly nostalgic writing up on Live Journal… as the last time I logged an entry I was in perfect health… actually, it all started going down hill after giving blood… as in the very next day…

I have since ascertained that the giving blood process being an unnatural process as it is, may not be for me… obviously my body treasures the white blood cells etc that make up my blood – hence why it fought every bit of the way in giving blood by only letting it trickle out…

Yes, I know, a somewhat cynical statement considering that a single donation can save up to three peoples lives… and I am in no way meaning to deter you dear reader from donating, in fact, I encourage it, it just doesn’t seem to be the thing for me.

For since this time I have been battling the last 3.5 weeks with various forms of the Flu. Some dodgy strain from Victoria via my boss’s wife, infecting my boss and then of course me. Symptoms ranging form migraines, blocked noses, sore throats, loss of body temperature regulation etc… fun stuff… oh well, on second dose of antibiotics now.. will kill it off eventually…

With all of us being sick at work the lunch topics have varied between virus’ and bacteria… never gave it much thought before, but it occurred to us that the early archeologists that visited Egypt digging up Pharaohs and Tombs ended up dying from what was perceived at the time as ‘Curses’ from breaching the sacred seals of tombs… but in reality, it would have been a virus laying dormant for all those thousands of years… of course the human immune system cannot counteract the strain and the explorers died… it’s a surprise that explorers today don’t wear protective suits….

Anyway, in addition to sleeping, drinking and all the other fun stuff that is done when home sick I have been developing a CarPC software application for my new car (Mitsubishi Lancer 2007 – Limited Edition Sports). The software for the moment is written in Adobe Flash 8; tho I have just got my hands on Adobe Flash CS3 so I may give that a shot later on… the primary objective of this project is to make a MP3 application that is touchscreen friendly (yeah I bought a 8” Touch Screen LCD for it) and also look highly animated and “flashy”, in that respect, it displays the album artwork for the tracks similar to Apples iTunes software… later additions to the CarPC will include GPS tracking, CCTV, DivX’s and other useless fun things :P

Right now tho, all I want to do is get better and healthy again… its so inconvenient… I cant see Tegan cos I will pass it onto her, and I cant see Mum as she is going thru chemo and pretty much has no immune system…

What i've done

2007-08-01T16:18:40Z

The best part of the film ‘Freddy got fingered’ was the end credits music by Eminem… I haven’t listened to his stuff in ages..

Other than that, my nights of late have involved witnessing the absurdly awesomeness of the BBC series Top Gear, specifically the ‘Polar Special’ where two teams raced each other to the North Pole; one in a Toyota Hilux ‘Invincible’ and the other on a dog sled… and just to keep things interesting, tonight I held off the inevitable urban vampire attack for another day by giving blood with a friend… anyone who hasn’t done it, I urge you to go forth, these guys are very grateful for the donations.

I would so love to do a photo essay on the North Pole!!

Back to normality

2007-07-24T15:41:13Z

I arrived in Sydney on Tuesday 17^th for a four day expo that was being held in Darling Harbour – the ‘Visual Impact and Image Expo’.

I was driven out to Perth domestic at 4am by JJ (thanks JJ) and after failing to meet up with my work colleagues at the airport (it was really busy that morning due to a flight cancellation the day before) boarded the flight to Sydney.. I saw my fellow colleagues on board the flight, but they didn’t see me until halfway through the flight… there was huge relief on my bosses face when he overheard me laugh out loud (lol) whilst watching ‘Wild Hogs’ – he thought that I got left behind. Whoops..

We arrived in Sydney around lunchtime and headed straight for the hotel before grabbing lunch, we were a five minute walk from Darling Harbour staying at the Oak Apartments on Sussex St. The three of us; my boss, fellow senior work colleague and myself stayed in the Penthouse suite on the top floor… our apartment was three levels, the lower level being the kitchen and living area, the second being the bedrooms and showers and the upper most being roof access with a bbq ready to go… it was fantastic!! Definitely a welcoming place to return to after a long day at the tradeshow.

The tradeshow itself was fantastic, the expo was full of signage related equipment from industrial sized printers which spanned over 8 meters in length, lasers and engravers for cutting and carving out signs and designs from plastic and of course the material used to make such signs…

For the sake of someone googling this, I will drop out the specific names of companies responsible but our company had some fun with the key opposition. :)

To paint the picture; in previous years (the last 4 easy) our opposition has done very well at the show, they outsell us, they are larger than us and they always win the best stall/set design awards etc… last year my parent company did ok with sales and as a result the opposition company got in early and pre-booked the booth location we had last year.. with no alternative we were forced to book the spot they had last year which was medioca location. As it turns out the location we had was by a main thoroughfare which worked great for us, and the opposition was hidden behind the back wall of its neighboring stall. Haha on them :) so this year we easily cleaned them up on the awards (go us)…

Since the theme for this expo was ‘Rock n Roll’ we all went with a rock theme… our stand for instance was a huge guitar and we had drums and fancy slogans etc.. our key opposition on the other hand had a black Harley and two blonde, tight (very little leather wearing), c cup busty booth babes… naturally put the booths side by side and there is no question where the customers would go… BUT, they were behind a large wall… on the second last day of the show two of our sales reps went around to chat to the booth babes, he made note that their feet must be killing them and to come over to our booth and use our electronic foot massager (yeah we brought one with us), one of the blondes knew immediately what the foot massager was like and dragged the other girl over to our booth… whilst enjoying the foot massage our boys were snapping away photos of the girls at OUR booth. Eventually one of the girls realized the politics of being over with us and they both fled… its gonna cause an uproar in the engraving industry when those photos are published in the next engraving magazine :P

Generally the days started with the expo from 10am till 5pm, followed by drinks at some bar and then dinner, followed by more drinks. On the last night (Friday night) we had a black tie awards function to attend. The function was hosted by Ed from the TV show ‘Temptation’ (aka Sale of the Century). We were all dressed up in James Bond tucks being wined and dined (with ENDLESS wine), by glass never fell below half full for the whole 4hrs… after the dinner and some rather embarrassing bear-hugs that followed from departing crew of our team the remainder of us headed to the Casino for further drinking.. The evening ended at around 4am as we all managed to stumble back to our penthouse suite before starting the final day of the show at 10am that same morning.

It was a rough night… I had the strangest dream that I spewed in the top side table drawer next to my bed… I woke up to find that it indeed happened… the whole morning I was hungover and ill, tho other staff members were ill too due to food poisoning, so perhaps mine was a little of both… either way, I took the morning off and laid on my back in the grass in Darling Harbour…

The rest of the weekend, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were holiday for me. I stayed with my uncle and his girlfriend in North Sydney and for those days relaxed, did some light shopping (didn’t buy anything), visited the Aquarium, the Wildlife Park and Opera House… I also went on an extensive tour of Channel Ten (through the news area and various stages) with my cousin Sharon who works there. Later that night, around 10pm I went on an exclusive tour of Channel Nine with my uncle who is a director there, and sat in on them filming/producing Nightline for that night; I met the TV presenters, the behind the scenes crew… it was fun to watch and soo funny to see the jokes that the staff and crew pull on eachother in breaks and during video footage of the news… it was incredible to see how a studio actually works…

So all up, it was a fantastic trip… I am now at the airport awaiting my flight back to Perth… I am looking forward to it… it has been a long week… though, I will miss Sydney. It definitely has become a second home.

To the Moon and Back

2007-07-10T18:42:00Z

No sooner has one day ended the sunrise of a new day approaches. I guess the fact that I am finishing work today at 3am, and starting again at 8am doesn’t really help.

Just got to upload 120MB worth of installation files and links to the ‘Download Centre’ of a new website I have just developed for the software that is to be launched in Sydney next Wednesday…

“Everybody's got a water buffalo
Yours is fast but mine is slow
Oh, where do you get them I don't know
But everyone's got a water buffaloooooo.................
I took my buffalo to the store
Got his head stuck in the door
Spilled some lima beans on the floor
Oh everybody's got a...”

-- The Water Buffalo Song

Everybody's got a Baby Kangaroo Yours is pink but mine is blue

2007-07-02T16:09:43Z

Another phenomenal weekend has gone by with everything from holding class with my students being my former High School teachers, seeing movies and spending time with my amazing girlfriend, driving through really big puddles and playing with ‘RC’ (from Toy Story) a remote control car I bought from Big-W on Friday.

With the weekend over (sadly), another week of work begins, with it drawing ever nearer to July 18^th; the date a software application that I have been co-working on for the last two years gets launched internationally from Sydney at the Visual Impact Expo in Darling Harbour.

To infinity and beyond…

2007-06-22T07:16:03Z

Well its 2:42pm, raining outside with me inside almost bored to death and still full from the black forest cake and chocolate/vanilla marble mudcake that was served for lunch in the boardroom. Usually @ Cipher, Friday is Pizza Friday, in this case however we forgoed the traditional pizza for two very large cakes for celebrating the retirement of a colleague. Now we are all tired and very much wanting to go home and relax :P

As for me, I just want to play with my latest Pixar acquisition; a limited collectors edition Pixar Monopoly set; fitting in nicely with my life-size Woody & Buzz Light Year toys and a collection of Pixar miniatures from Cars, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, A Bugs Life and Toy Story, which are all at work along with an awesome Pixar-Disney wall poster :P