sonic in Melbourne

2011-04-26T22:31:00.001+10:00

2011-04-13T15:11:00.001+10:00

2011-04-12T01:33:00.003+10:00

I'd like to acknowledge my friend Seiji, it seems that he's finally done with cigarettes... Some people try to avoid talking about it but I know personally it's a tough battle and it's something to be proud of, some experience worth sharing. Not to highlight that humans will fall into temptation, but that we are always capable of turning things around. No matter how bad it might seem it's never too late.

I dreamed of Japan again last night, maybe it's my trip which is coming up next month, maybe it's the romance... but I can't help but feel like there is something in my future waiting for me there, something huge and immovable.

2011-04-09T21:18:00.001+10:00

2011-04-04T18:13:00.003+10:00

Straight Flush: Texas Hold'em and Poker Addiction

I've been getting into poker in a big way and never realised how addictive this game could be. It's often the simplest games that capture the most of our time and attention. It's the froggers, pac-mans, donkey-kongs, doodle-jumps... except unlike the above, a cash game of poker is a $100 minimum buy-in. So on the weekend I played two variations of the same game; cash game and tournament, and from that experience could draw only one conclusion. Cash game style poker is gambling. It reeks of all of the classic endorphin hooks to keep you playing and it has no beginning and no end... Tournament style poker has a start and an end and, in my opinion, is still a pure game. Although there's adrenaline involved in both, there's much more to keep you focused on the observation, skill and stratergy aspects when in a tournament, which is what got me here in the first place! I don't know why that is, exactly, as it's supposed to be the same game... but these are my observations.

I know there are "rounders" out there who can play the game so well as to make their living from it, but for most people they are not driven by rent money but by the gambling angle and if you loose, you can always buy back in... it's a game with no defined end point or goal, that in itself should sound alarm bells. A poker tounament on the other hand, you pay your entry fee, get your chips along with everyone else, then that's it. If you bust, you are eliminated. It's up to you and your skills to battle it all the way to the top. The winner takes the prize, everyone else get's a good story...

I do enjoy gambling, but If I do ever feel so compelled, I gamble properly. I play the big table games, I play fast and I play wild, but I never exceed my limits.

Cash game poker has no beginning, no end and no limits. It's in the freeking name: "No Limit Texas Hold'em".

Poker caught me off guard because I didn't consider it gambling, that's not how it's introduced, it starts as a simple game of skill, with an element of chance, like monopoly, but there is a reason it's played in the casino.

So no more cash games for this card fan. I wish you all the best of luck on your own strange journeys...

2011-03-25T15:47:00.000+11:00

2011-03-11T16:15:00.003+11:00

Carpel tunnel much?

My new USB Kinesis ergonomic keyboard arrived a few days ago and I am enjoying it thoroughly. I had a PS2 version of the same keyboard I bought second hand from the same friend that got me onto them originally, but the PS2 to USB adapter required constant plugging and un-plugging and certain keys were giving me trouble in the finder. I had switched back to the apple generic slimline bluetooth keyboard for a while and in doing so had no hesitation in shipping out a brand new, black, USB model.

That's the apple multi-touch trackpad blu-tacked to the center panel there, mainly for 2 finger scrolling but the rare occasions I do require small cursor control. Otherwise I use a wacom intuos 3 or, if illustrating, my cintiq 12WX.

The apple keyboards look nice, but are really laptop keyboards in an aluminium enclosure. After only a week on the apple keyboard, not only could I no longer stand the sensation of hitting the bottom of the key travel every keystroke, my wrists were starting to complain, on occasion with considerable and enduring pain...

I cant put into words how much I LOVE the Kinesis welled keyboard. The keys are in-line with your fingers, the contoured wells are very well designed and using the thumbs for space, backspace and command keys is absolute genius. But the most important thing for me is the 4mm of travel in each key. This means you type without ever hitting the bottom and makes the single most important difference in typing sensation and speed.

I know $250 US is a lot for something that is usually $5... but if you type a lot, think about it, how much are your wrists worth to you? Absolutely no regrets and no hesitation recommending the Kinesis keyboards to you. Thank me later :)

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/

If you do purchase one, I recommend also changing the caps-lock key to a control key so you can hold cmd+ctrl keys with thumb and pinky. I also assign the control keys as command keys as these are the mac equivalent, and the alt keys into option keys. I use control a lot for sending a screen shot to the clipboard and also for cmd+ctrl key combos so I need my other hand. These are all simple options in the Mac OS and don't require any programming of the keyboard (although it is fully programmable).

2011-03-03T02:02:00.001+11:00

If you've also done this then you know what it means :)

And if you've done this you know what that means...

And... hang on...

2011-02-26T19:25:00.002+11:00

When I was in highschool, we kids were very much preoccupied with being funny and interesting as people. Overhearing a conversation between two teenagers today, they seemed more preoccupied in talking about other peoples youtube videos and internet jokes that were funny and interesting, while they were certainly not laughing above a chortle and their actual conversation would most certainly not have received many "likes".

I'm not saying either way is right, but it did seem to me that being interesting in person matters far less, these days, than maintaining the appearance of being interesting online, where you can reach more people. One-on-one conversation seemingly delegated to arming yourself with technique in avatar management.

What do you think? Is your personality now measured with your favorites list?

Oh by the way, did you see that cat giving the thumbs up? It's very funny. You should definitely check that out.

2011-02-06T22:15:00.000+11:00

2011-02-05T23:51:00.002+11:00

hi. how are you.

it's been a while, I know

so what's behind your eyelids?

2011-02-04T12:16:00.001+11:00

UNDERCITY from Andrew Wonder on Vimeo.

2011-02-04T02:13:00.002+11:00

nostalgia like crazy...

2011-01-26T22:48:00.000+11:00

fuck ya then..

2011-01-26T00:24:00.001+11:00

2011-01-18T00:40:00.001+11:00

2011-01-13T08:00:00.002+11:00

"My advice to you when practicing Japanese: if you find yourself trying to figure out how to say an English thought in Japanese, save yourself the trouble and quit because you won't get it right almost 100% of the time. You should always keep this in mind: If you don't know how to say it already, then you don't know how to say it. Instead, if you can, ask someone right away how to say it in Japanese including a full explanation of its use and start your practice from Japanese. Language is not a math problem; you don't have to figure out the answer. If you practice from the answer, you will develop good habits that will help you formulate correct and natural Japanese sentences."

This is good advice, and goes along with my Katana theory (don't pull it out unless you're going to use it).

Japanese second language? A good PDF guide for learning real quick: http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar

2011-01-12T01:35:00.001+11:00

She lives in Japan...

add me on skype!

"WHAT IS SKYPE?"

...what is skype... skype let's you make free calls overseas!

"why would I need to call overseas... I already live in Japan?"

2011-01-06T18:46:00.001+11:00

اقراء كتاب نورمانصر

2011-01-06T15:13:00.005+11:00

China released their own version of air superiority fighter... but it looks way too similar to the American "Raptor" air superiority fighter... let's take a closer look...

AHA!!! I KNEW IT!@!!!!

2011-01-05T03:47:00.006+11:00

Tonight, again, I caught myself staring down the barrel of the Japanese emigration requirements... and again doubting my long history of self-teaching.

"Minimum Education Requirement: Bachelor Degree"

Fuck.

That means, best case scenario, a minimum of 1 year, a lot of time and a lot of money. Time and money I could spend doing so much more! You don't understand how frustrating that is... Actually, you probably do.

And then at the same time, I have come so far on my own. Good job, classes I look forward to, enough material possessions to make a man ill! And it's all fruit from the tree of self-learning. So much invested in that life choice that I almost feel obligated to continue.

From where I sit, choosing to go to university at this point actually feels more like "dropping out", than dropping out ever did.

I know people who have gotten a lot out of university, I live with one and date another. Both with very bright futures, but I feel I owe it to all the self-learn'ed out there, to push on and do it my own way... our way. Who knows, one day I might even be one of those names at the bottom of the wikipedia entry for Auto-didacticism.

In the words of Kenny Dixon Jr... "Fuck it, I'm doing my thing!".

2010-12-31T03:11:00.001+11:00

"Some types of moths are known to migrate, and it's possible that the night sky gives them navigational clues. A moth's up-down orientation might depend in part on the brightness of the sky relative to the ground. Some lepidopterists (moth and butterfly scientists) suggest that moths use the moon as a primary reference point and have the ability to calibrate their flight paths as the Earth's rotation causes the moon to move across the sky. (There is even evidence to support the theory that migrating moths have an internal geomagnetic compass system to guide them in the right direction.) So a moth's attraction to an artificial light or to a fire could be related to orientation, and lead to dis orientation -- the moth wasn't "expecting" to actually get to "the moon" (the light source) or to be able to fly above it, so confusion results."

...huh! something I never bothered to google: "why are moths attracted to light?"

2010-12-30T04:40:00.006+11:00

Best game to come from SEGA since VOOT! And the most on-point shooter since Quake 3... not bad for a third person, single player shoot-em-up.

Oliver, I hear you say, have you lost your mind? Yep, and my insanity has a name now: Vanquish.

Why so awesome? The time shifting abilities, well scripted gunplay yet always extending it's reach further and further with the targeting accuracy and precision that is lacking from other platform shooters (*cough* halo *cough*) and perhaps more the way all these things have all been brought together keeping it tight, responsive, intuitive and fun... Oh, and the story isn't bad either :)

Video does not do it justice at all. If you have a console, please download the demo!!! And I know the whole "this game is actually fun" manta has been played out to death, but this is exactly the kind of game I was hoping would come and prove me wrong for the last 10 years.

Many shooters spend more time on the game rather than the gameplay, then to hide the fact it's clunky to play, they make the graphics big and clunky as some kind of disguise, then add targeting reticles that seem to take up half the screen because they are essentially useless anyway, and usually top their steaming pile of turd off by introducing drama in the form of insane muzzle flashes and special effects so over the top and blinding that we can't actually see what's going on half the time.

Vanquish is crisp, clear and refreshing. It delivers spectacular explosions and effects, but never to the detriment of playability. And for good reason: because vanquish has nothing to hide. The gameplay carries that Japanese precision and excellence which only their veteran game market can produce.

Got a dispute on who shot who? Not when you can slow down time and inspect a thousand bullets individually.

The game is fast too, so fast that without the time shifting ability it would be unplayably fast. Why? Well for example, some enemies can tie shift as well, only giving you half a second to aim and shoot! But when you can slow time down to the point where you can dodge bullets, half a second is a lifetime... heck, why not empty the whole mag and have a cigarette while you're down there! Such superpowers do give an unfair advantage, and might perhaps make the game boring, but as mentioned, everything is well blanced... every advantage has a price and most of the time it's a build up of heat, and subsequent time spent waiting for your suit to cool down. The concept of over heating is used to great effect.

I see this kind of high definition control, or, 'precision gaming' will eventually take hold. With an unfolding, multi-faceted depth to something as unassuming as a simple 'point, shoot', traditional control will no longer be enough.

Now, being able to slow down time obviously does not translate well in multiplayer, and it is probably for this reason that the game is single player. But some of the best games have been traditionally single player and it's good to see one director that is not bowing to the trend to make everything online at any cost.

The call of duty's and the halos have their place... but not in my heart... not until I crack this.

Game of 2010!!!

2010-12-29T20:19:00.001+11:00

2010-12-28T01:01:00.003+11:00

We had a great time in Adelaide for Christmas summer vacation.

2010-12-18T12:06:00.001+11:00

El Guincho - Bombay from CANADA on Vimeo.

2010-12-16T10:27:00.001+11:00

TIME... what the Zuck'?

2010-12-15T23:15:00.000+11:00

my kind of maths:

2010-12-14T22:39:00.000+11:00

2010-12-08T00:02:00.000+11:00

2010-12-06T11:48:00.000+11:00

2010-12-06T00:03:00.000+11:00

An anonymous reader writes "People with a university degree fear death less than those at a lower literacy leve. In addition, fear of death is most common among women than men, which affects their children's perception of death."

[link]

2010-12-02T14:19:00.003+11:00

My kid brother is in Tunisia, where he reports that youtube and vimeo are both blocked by their internet filter. Too many people openly hating on muslims apparently, which is a threat to regional stability [sic].

But for REALZ, dog, no wonder muslims blow shit up all the time... I'd blow myself up too if youtube was blocked in Australia.

2010-11-30T16:17:00.001+11:00

2010-11-30T08:44:00.008+11:00

A friend and fellow psychonaught recently approached me with something I hadn't heard in years; shared hallucinations. A shared hallucination is when two or more people experience the same hallucination.

I explained that it had only occurred once a long time ago. In my case, I was with a very close friend and he and I spent that much time together, doing the same things, playing the same games... that we never even questioned it. We were just that used to experiencing the same things, why not a hallucination.

But it got me thinking again, not specifically about hallucinations, but more about why we would perceive the sharing of them to be some sort of anomaly, something strange. When two people watch a film we are not surprised, when we exit the cinema, that our experiences align... you may not like the movie, she might love it, but you are both confident in the fact that you saw the same crappy chick flick and can even recall specific details to discuss over your non-franchise sustainable-rainforest coffee.

Why, then, does it become such a stretch for the imagination, when two people with a similar upbringing, exposed to the same external stimuli, are capable of generating the same hallucination?

Is it because what we considered to be the private of privates, our own thoughts, suddenly seems very public? Is it because we are personally and violently thrust into a shared kind of banality, after potentially years of living under the guise that our thoughts were unique, that we were somehow special? Or, as seems to be the only option considered by the casual trippee, is it because we are actually capable of telepathy?

Have you ever experienced a shared hallucination? Have you ever time travelled?

2010-11-26T02:27:00.005+11:00

The anxiety I personally feel watching young ravers take psychedelic drugs for the first time is, for me, something new.

Through this anxiety, I have come to understand the current laws surrounding these substances, as I experience for the first time what an adult lawmaker might feel.

But to write into law, our own anxieties, is unfair. We fear these substances because we know how they affect(ed) us, and the truth is, we ultimately don't trust our juvenile selves to figure out what we consider ourselves to be so clever at having figured out.

But there is a problem, as nobody can patent life, and nobody owns consciousness.

It's the same anxiety we might feel watching our children learn to walk, but we wouldn't dare write a law against walking. The only difference is personal understanding. What I mean is, we do not write laws against learning to walk, because we understand what that learning can mean for our mobility. Yet we continue to uphold prohibition, generation after generation, because we still don't fully understand what that type of learning actually means for the mobility of human thought...our thought.

These questions about ourselves remain unanswered because our understanding is currently under prohibition.

Now I've said it before, I'll say it again: THE KID'S ARE ALRIGHT. What business is it of ours if they want to try some of the things we've tried? What right do we have, to prohibit convenient partitions of human experience? Well, none is the answer, as much as I am growing not to like it.

So I leave with this: Don't trust anyone over 27, including myself.

...AND STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS... and uhhh... GET OFF'A MY LAWN.

2010-11-23T22:25:00.001+11:00

AR Drone Game

Kids today get the coolest toys! Thanks Jay!

2010-11-23T02:22:00.002+11:00

I don't what this blog to become about hydraulic fracturing in Australia, but I got concerned that my energy provider, Origin, sourced gas that was extracted via hydraulic fracturing. Not only do they source "fracced" gas, their provider is already starting to get negative reports regarding contamination. I'm going to try and source our gas from a supplier that opposes, or at least has a fracc-free source option. That may be Origin themselves, but I think their "green gas" product refers simply to offsetting carbon emissions of the gas itself and not with the source, as their electricity products do.

More to come...

2010-11-22T19:44:00.001+11:00

2010-11-21T18:03:00.003+11:00

Hydraulic Fracture

I like to think that we have more regulations on this stuff here in Australia, compared to America where the documentary GASLAND was filmed, but then I find out that CSIRO are behind it and that hydraulic fracture operations are being set up in Australia already. I can't light my water on fire, yet, but the whole 'fraccing' process is ultimately fuelled by our own demand for gas. It is our own gas bill that pays for these operations. Now that I am aware, I for one will be intentionally cutting back my natural gas consumption.

Perhaps Origin can offer a "non-fracc" version of their green gas product (which only deals with carbon as far as I know). Obviously I like to use gas to cook with but this kind of thing boils my blood.

2010-11-20T02:24:00.004+11:00

My UN-crazy, sane, stable and composed girlfriend and myself had a 1 hour long phone discussion about my most recent series blog posts. It was not crazy at all.

I felt bad about my behaviour, trying to force her to learn my imagined "lesson" in creative writing. The lesson I wanted her to learn was two fold. One, I wanted her to be able to tell the difference between reality and the written word (not necessarily my writing, but with my writing serving the purpose). Two, to be able to accept that what I post on my blog is my business and the nature is both irrepressible, and indelible.

My lesson went a bit too far and I was treated to a barrage of explanations, complaints, bribes and pleas.

So I was torn... forced to face a question that still drives me, "if faced with the choice, would you choose your friends and family or your art?"

I felt bad and wanted to make it up to her, but I also knew I couldn't betray myself by deleting the offending posts because of my long held views on censorship (trivial or otherwise). So, long story short, I took my already maxed-out credit card and bought a boat. "Nothing like a cruise on a brand new SeaRay 43’ Sundancer to settle our differences", I thought to myself. The big selling point for me to go drive this boat was its joystick piloting! This boat is also the first Sea Ray to come standard with Zeus, CMD's innovative pod drive system.

Our oil covered bodies glistened in the deep summer sun, and we sailed off across the endless blue expanse... As our sinuses flexed to take in all that crisp sea air, she accepted my buoyant apologies. I cradled my heavy head in her breasts... and thought about how I was going to pay for the great whale.

2010-11-19T16:37:00.003+11:00

By the way, I'm not really single, I was just teaching my ~~crazy~~ girlfriend a lesson in creative writing. This is my retraction (mostly for her ~~crazy~~ benefit).

2010-11-19T03:53:00.005+11:00

By the way, I'm single again cause my ~~crazy~~ asian girlfriend is ~~crazy~~.

So all the 18 year olds within a 5 kilometer radius please get your resumes ready! Orderly que, no pushing at the back, you'll all get your turn! Preference given to those with acute psychological disorders manifesting as latex and whip fetishes.

2010-11-19T00:09:00.007+11:00

Male 27 Australia
I like computers and computer games! I like girls too, almost as much as I like computers.

I'm a computer programmer and children's book illustrator. I like riding my bike, starting books and never finishing them, surrealism and military technology. I am borderline schizoid, manic depressive tending towards mania and a devout vegetarian. Of food, I cook very well (when I have the time). Oh, and I am also very honest, and as an added bonus, I never cheat on girls.

My dream girl would like riding bikes around on sundays together, holding hands, "frolicking" in the botanical gardens (I've never tried but it seems like fun), watching intellectual type cinema at the Astor and discussing it afterwards with fervor.

My dream girl and I would plan trips to the beach but never have time to go because we would be too busy reading or working on the next big thing.

My dream girl and I would travel overseas and stay at 6 star hotels... then 5... then 3, then when the money finally runs out, we'd find ourselves staring at the water damaged walls of some fucked to death 0.5 star French chalet... in Prague... wondering if it's still socially acceptable to ask our parents for money.

Sound like you? Let's roll. The summer is nigh and girl talk just released a new album. Let's crash our helicopter of love into the proverbial 12 apostles, of love. Haven't you heard! Geeks are cool now! So get on board with the boys with the brains ;)

So if you like good times, ice cream and little big planet, I be burning up your wall like a bitch. Maybe even a little little portal 2 when it's released.

2010-11-15T12:43:00.001+11:00

2010-11-15T03:40:00.001+11:00

2010-11-12T04:35:00.006+11:00

Hatsune Miku is a virtual pop-star, but that hasn't stopped her amassing a huge following and even performing LIVE!

By live we mean, a rear projected hologram... I can't confirm if it's 3D or not.. I don't think it is, but should be...

I think this is a good idea as pop-stars are thoroughly... no... highly disposable, in fast-moving Japan. This way, nobody's real-life is ruined in the process :P

Here's another video about her:

2010-11-11T01:40:00.001+11:00

2010-11-09T08:15:00.001+11:00

Richard Feynman explains the difference between arrays and linked lists (P.S. not really)

2010-11-06T14:42:00.008+11:00

Al Dente!

Some people ask me why I like Japan so much, and I wish I had a pat answer... for people like this.

But I was thinking about this recently while staring into my bowl of pasta today, and I recalled a time eating pasta on the river near Suidobashi in Tokyo with some friends. We were talking about gastronomy and of course the dish of the evening, pasta. I said that the very best pasta in Melbourne was actually served at a Japanese restaurant, and trying to describe why one of my Japanese friends chimed in "al dente?". Yep.

Now I am certainly not likening Japan to pasta, but it was more the fact that this particular friend had already identified with the concept of al dente which really summed up for me, my particular set of reasons for liking Japan.

2010-11-05T22:50:00.001+11:00

DOUBLE THE FIST!

Full episodes on Youtube :)

http://www.youtube.com/show/doublethefist?s=2

2010-11-05T09:00:00.000+11:00

#2 Antimatter Retrocausality

"...When it was first theorized, John Wheeler said that perhaps it answered the question of why all electrons in the universe have identical properties, a question so obvious that it is generally ignored. He suggested that it was just one electron, constantly darting all over the universe, from the Big Bang to the end of time and back again, continuing an uncountable number of times..."

Awesome.

http://listverse.com/2010/11/04/10-strange-things-about-the-universe/

2010-11-05T03:04:00.002+11:00

2010-11-04T02:17:00.000+11:00

2010-10-26T17:06:00.002+11:00

Ever since they dedicated a whole cognition simulation server to absolute freedom (no rules placed on physics), it has been flooded by teenagers wanting to experience what it's like to be pure energy. Spending all that time zipping around the universe as a beam of light and colliding with each other, parents are worried what effect it will have on their adult working life...

2010-10-20T16:07:00.003+11:00

disturbing, but kinda cool... south africa?

2010-10-18T20:18:00.003+11:00

We ride upon the imagination of our forefathers... but will our children?

2010-10-14T02:20:00.002+11:00

2010-10-14 0h11m49 by sonicoliver
When I was a child, I lived on a commercial wheat farm in rural Australia, hundreds of kilometers from anywhere, or anybody. We were so far inland, the heat of summer would linger, and the still, dry nights would keep you wide awake. The few radio stations I could get didn't broadcast much at night, so I got in the habit of scanning the AM frequencies for the sound of ship engines, passing asteroids, trains firing up and down the lines, and in the dark of the night I'd listen for hours to those foreign, yet oddly familiar sounds...

These days I live in the city, I don't have an AM radio, but sometimes I just want some of those familiar engines and broken radio loops running in the background while I'm up late, online.

I created this hour mix in Traktor using 4 decks to create different loops and sounds.

2010-10-12T05:18:00.001+11:00

"Video games are easy, and video games are difficult. Video games can be notoriously challenging, but even challenging games often have easy-to-use interfaces. Now, what is the difference between ease of use and challenge? Where does the easy interface end, and where does the difficult gameplay begin?"

Just putting this here so I don't loose it: http://www.jesperjuul.net/text/easydifficult/

2010-10-10T19:32:00.004+11:00

"Don't call it a comeback!"

I made a little lunar lander game way back when I first started out in flash in 2000, and it ended up being a huge hit on my dads website with the kids who visit it, even today! And ever since I have felt obliged todo a follow up but was not sure how, what format... etc etc. Bogged down in technicalities basically, destined to never happen... (that and also many bills to pay).

Recently the idea of a sequel came back up, but I wanted to add something new...

I felt that a big part of the appeal of the original was the very steep learning curve combined with a very low penalty for dying. It means the player might play the first level 10 or even 50 times, but each attempt is fast paced and each time they learn something new. In short, make failing less demoralizing but keep that difficulty sky high. Being a big fan of Johnathan Blow and time travel respectively, I loved the idea of being able to reverse time instead of starting over completely. This approach is not only fun and intuitive, but it's almost as if you have a save game that follows you in real time thus reducing that penalty to zero.

Eventually Dan and I hope to port the code to Unity3D, at which point his 3D experience will really help us create something special. In the mean time, I just have to get some code tapped out.

Check out this programming test I made today: One life, endless combinations... crash into the green wall to end it all!

If you have Flash CS4 or CS5 installed and want to have a play, download the source files and have a tinker!

2010-10-07T01:20:00.000+11:00

Working so hard right now!!! ROAAAAAAR!!!

2010-10-05T23:05:00.003+11:00

Back in sunny Melbourne.

2010-09-07T00:18:00.001+10:00

I'm in Japan!

2010-09-03T02:38:00.001+10:00

2010-08-29T18:48:00.001+10:00

COOL! http://lookbook.nu/

2010-08-29T18:10:00.003+10:00

New photos of Saturn and it's moons: 2010 Cassini Orbiter Gallery.

I'm leaving for Japan on Tuesday.

2010-08-25T13:41:00.008+10:00

Is there such a thing as overstimulation? I don't think any life experience could prepare you something like this stage at Glastonbury:

What's all this rubbish about mind control television, enslavement of the masses through propaganda and the war, ahem, WAR on drugs? We know we have to work our little asses off week in, week out, until we kick the bucket it's no use trying to hide the obvious... all we want to do is have a little party now and then... let our hair down and experience cool sweat evaporating into the mid summer night, that sort of thing... We're all in this together!

Beardyman is no stranger to my blog, he makes all his own sounds... with his face:

Life imitating art, gone wayyyyy wrong.

2010-08-24T02:10:00.002+10:00

This could be the first co-authored blog I've been a part of that actually fucking goes anywhere: http://koalachrome.blogspot.com/

2010-08-19T15:15:00.000+10:00

2010-08-19T00:08:00.001+10:00

2010-08-15T20:58:00.006+10:00

I saw something awesome today!

A few months back I was doing some illustration work for the Mattel "Toy Lab" [toylab.com.au] so you can see some of the design work in the background of the site, however the illustration went on to guide the other works and eventually the TVC's. Aside from the rest of the lab, one of the tasks was to imagine a "fun-o-meter", a little device to measure fun. Here is my original sketch.

Messy! But within that I could see my fun-o-meter, so from there I rendered it digitally, refined it, tasked with placing him in different scenarios and gave an example of how it could animate.

I was only contracted for the initial creative stage and therefore didn't get to see him much after that, but the video production guys took him away to animate so I was very happy to see him again in 3D, starring in the new TVC's!

2010-08-08T14:13:00.002+10:00

We won!

Late last night the Coalition announced it won't be voting for an internet filter that censors the web. This comes after the Government responded to our campaign by deferring the filter until 2012 (with the likelihood that the filter will never come back in its current form).

With independent Senator Nick Xenophon, the Greens and now the Coalition all walking away from the ineffective policy of censoring the internet, there is now no way for the Senate to pass this scheme.

This is your victory. Thank you!

Check out what we did together -- and hear about the ongoing global fight here:

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet&id=1274

2010-07-24T00:00:00.000+10:00

2010-07-23T08:02:00.000+10:00

Nobody owns knowledge.

2010-07-14T13:00:00.004+10:00

後ろ。

2010-07-03T14:59:00.003+10:00

On freedom.

Freedom is often sold to us as something good. The universal dream of freedom, the concept of being free. Yet as a lot of us in the modern world, slave to our credit cards or student loans, who is really free here?

The American variety of free speech is both a constructive and destructive force. Constructive as to the variety that any freedom enables, destructive in that perhaps some things are best left unsaid. The example I offer up is Russian children's television. Here in the allegedly free world, this sort of nonsense would be rallied against and banned... in Russia, this sort of nonsense goes on without contest... who's free again?

Mosques are free to broadcast their air-raid siren like monotonous drones 5 times a day because the majority consider it to be "music", while those unfortunate minority suffer in... not so silent, silence.

Australia says no-no-no to air raid sirens 5 times a day and yes-yes-yes to wedding bells. so again, who is free?

I think we need to do a test... Are you ready?

Mosques are noisy and sound like air-raid sirens.

...Hmmmm, I typed it, yet I don't hear the police busting through my door... one more test, to be fair...

Christians are misguided know it all's who preach to the converted, hold grudges against rest and their modern attempt to jazz it up with rock music stills harks back guitar strumming, sex abstaining, wet-behind-the-ears borderline retards.

Hmmmm...

Female prime ministers should be back to the kitchen making me a big man-size dinner.

...still nothing... holy snapping duck shit, I think I could be... free? I don't know anymore.

Sorry no Japanese diary today, this is a bit beyond my abilities.

2010-06-16T16:07:00.002+10:00

♪ "No you can't take that awaaayyy from meeeee...."

2010-06-15T17:38:00.006+10:00

Games I have actually finished all the way through, no cheating, hardest setting. In other words, お気に入りゲーム

Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2, 3
Sonic and Knuckles
Cool Spot
Taz-Mania
Glider PRO
Harry the Handsome Executive
ICO
Sonic Adventure 1, 2
Shenmue
Rez
Braid
Machinarium
Lumines II
Every Extend Extra
Pursuit Force
Puyo-Puyo Fever
Portal
Army of Two
Army of Two 40th Day

Pretty strange list actually... I think I need to go back and finish the original earthworm jim, now that I can actually save the game. Is that cheating?

2010-06-15T00:32:00.000+10:00

Everybody loves yoga.

2010-06-14T04:46:00.002+10:00

お気に入りの映画
お気に入りの音楽
お気に入りの本
お気に入りの女
お気に入りのSOCCER TEAM?
「気に入る」て大好き！

2010-06-14T03:31:00.003+10:00

ESLでは皆の奴。俺の奴か？

俺の友達は英語だけです。彼女？英語。母と父上も日本語分からない。
この方向は正しいの？だがら、欠航と決行はどちだいよ！両立するほんとにできるか？
俺はちょっとGOOSE見たいけど、これは、バイリンガル人の鬼だ。
フッキングSHIßE！！！

2010-06-11T03:12:00.000+10:00

2010-06-10T04:23:00.001+10:00

Calculus by candlelight.

2010-06-07T23:07:00.001+10:00

2010-06-07T00:56:00.003+10:00

Japanese Restaurant #1 Round-up
I wrote this for a friend but her email bounced... figure it might go to some use here...

#1 for value: Izakaya Chuji
165 Lonsdale Street, City
This is, as you should know, a Melbourne institution... Japanese food can get expensive, but chuji takes some of the sting from the bill. Cheap, flavoursome and filling. The Lonsdale St store recently expanded with a bar next door so if you are a fan of sake, you have to try the Sapporo draught beer on tap! They've imported a Japanese beer tap for that signature "creamy top". There is also another Chuji in South Melbourne!

#1 for account manager chic: Izakaya Den
114 Russel Street, City
This one is relatively new, and has been generating a lot of noise. More expensive than Chuji if you're for izakaya style but the food is amazing. Also, it's bit hard to find (like "Yu-u") but don't be discouraged, it's well worth the hunt. Just look for the a big set of stairs descending into... heaven?... ara? hell kana~... with food like this, who cares!
http://www.izakayaden.com.au/

#1 for first dates: Yu-u
137 Flinders lane, City (Unmarked red door, on the corner of Oliver Lane)
Genuine Japanese, a bit fine dining but always a real treat. Make sure you book!
Here's a nice review: http://tummyrumbles.com/2007/01/yu-u.html
On the back of its success, the owners started another place specialising in tempura called "Tempura Hajime", which is in South Melbourne. I have yet to visit but have heard great things.
Review: http://tummyrumbles.com/2007/04/tempura-hajime.html

#1 for vegetarian bento: Wabi-sabi salon
94 Smith Street, Collingwood
I ate here daily for many months... until I bedded a waitress and couldn't go back. The friendship didn't last but oh what I'd do to get back together with their menu! They have some alternative flavours of maki as well, and a great "secret" garden out the back, down the stairs... (prob better in summer, but nevertheless). There is also a new one in St Kilda "Wabi-sabi garden" but I have yet to visit. Apparently the decor is even more amazing.
http://wabisabi.net.au/

#1 for tapas: Horoki
19 Liverpool St, City
Supurb sake list and great specials... this is, honest to god, hands down the best pasta in Melbourne. Get in quick because I believe the owner / resident chef is selling the business. This is a great little place. Perfect for a bite before a movie, or after... or whenever. (Sundried tomato garlic bread is to die for).

#1 for take away: Kirala
439 Glenhuntly Rd, Elsternwick
Great Japanese style curry and croquette with free hot occha (tea) in winter while you're waiting... can't go wrong!

#1 for zen: Kaga
580 Glen Huntly Rd, Elsternwick
With a real sushi bar and clean plates, my long time favorite is Kaga. We used to live within walking distance by on Orrong Road, but maintained regular trips long after we moved on. The kind of place you can bring your friends or your family.

2010-06-03T19:04:00.003+10:00

これをコピーしたけど何のビデオ忘れた。

せいじと一緒GOEMONを見ました、再び。面白かった、再び。

2010-05-27T22:09:00.002+10:00

今日はちょっと働いた、後はでスケートした。

2010-05-21T10:41:00.008+10:00

今回はMattel会社の仕事を戴いた。Mattelの「ToyLab」サイトのイラストをする。そんな事は新しい宣伝です。おもちゃをもう売られたいんですけど〜嬉し、終日イラストをできるから。常仕事はこんなのとちょっと違う。来月でサイットがライブになって時、絵を見せるよ！「Lab」とBarbieだに。

じゃッ！女時で、この野郎どうだ？

2010-05-19T12:15:00.006+10:00

今日は何でもない面白かったけど、せいじは「日本語日記を書いて」て言うたとその念では良い。
私のアルバイトで09:30を初めてでもトラムは遅い。毎日２時間を潰して。あとで学校に行ったけど授業がない。恥ずかしかった！忘れてしまいました。私はもう27歳でこの日本語は、ほんとにできるかな。18歳時日本語を始めった下手じゃないか。

実は、今日が面白かった。毎日怖いと面白い、それはサイケの人生。

女がないごめんもとかわいい物をさがしてるよ。

2010-05-16T21:59:00.009+10:00

今日はせいじといしょうで映画を見たしGrilledに行った。ハンバーグを食べちゃた。おいしかったです。
あとでスーパに買い物する時で二人男がおこった、ラーメンほしかったんだとおもいます。おもしろかった。

かわい女いただきます。

2010-05-15T20:04:00.001+10:00

SiON TETRISizer - wonderfl build flash online

More info: http://blog.jactionscripters.com/2010/05/15/tetris-on-the-beat/

2010-05-15T00:30:00.001+10:00

2010-05-12T15:58:00.005+10:00

It's begun, people have started getting confused about supporting the iphone, in the office.

"How do we make the website iphone friendly?", "How do we animate in HTML5?"...

My approach for iphone support of enhanced websites is the same stance I have always had for mobile devices: a reduced offering. Reduced offering for a company means, only essential details like contact details and maybe a contact form. Reduced offering for a restaurant would mean the above and perhaps a menu and a link to google maps. This does not only concern flash, Javascript rollovers are out too. And of course, a reduced offering for a fully immersive website, microsite or game, is a message explaining that the need something more powerful to play.

But what about iPad? Surely this is a special case?

No. An iPad user expecting developers to support interactive parity in HTML5 is like a gamer buying a Wii expecting to play Metal Gear Solid. They will find themselves stuck with a reduced offering.

Don't believe the hype!

2010-05-06T23:13:00.000+10:00

2010-05-02T01:22:00.000+10:00

whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com

2010-04-26T01:11:00.002+10:00

It's time again for "Japanese words that are the same as English words"...

I believe this one is exclusive to Australian English (and Japanese, obviously).

Todays word is: "Rippa". In Japanese that's 立派 or りっぱ [rippa]
And they have roughly the same meaning and usage, for example:

"That book is a rippa, isn't it!"

or

立派の本ですね！ [rippa no hon desune!]

Other words in the example are:

本：ほん　[hon] "book"

2010-04-25T01:03:00.001+10:00

2010-04-24T17:32:00.001+10:00

It's a beautiful destination, for what it's worth.

2010-04-24T02:59:00.000+10:00

2010-04-23T04:33:00.003+10:00

Check this shit out: if we were actually a computer simulation, and it took a really long time to render the world, why not just stop the simulation until the view for each eye was calculated. To an artificial mind, the perception of time would form part of the simulation, which can of course be stopped. To the computer, the simulation has stopped, but from inside the simulation, time is seamless, never ending.

A computationally expensive lie would be the most extravagant gift we could give our simulated prodigy.

Does anyone have a root password? I want to go back in time and learn Japanese properly :)