20050430
LIFE - I'm going to *pop*!
Megz and I went to Wildfire for dinner. This is a resturant at the Viaduct Basin in Auckland which specialises in servering food in a traditional Brazilian cowboy style. Really neat actually. The waiters walk around with different meat on skewers and cut some off for you. It was really yummy. And when I got home I drank a whole bunck of taquila, and now my head is swimming...Nite nite *hic*.
20050429
LIFE - Ha ha...
Went back to the Classic, as Megz felt she missed out. I didn't enjoy it as much as last time, since there was a big comedy thing on somewhere else else.The comedians were funny, but there weren't as many as usualy...
LIFE - Dumdee-do
It's a shame some people done understand the difference between leadership and management. Particularly when they're managers...
PAINTBALL - Worst - show - evar
I give up on FB Radio. It's basically turned in to "Dale Radio". And hey, it's his show, so that's fine. But man, he does drone on..And more and more about scenario games. *yaaaaaawn*
Thank goodness the E-Money show with Evan Money and Chris Iaquinta is doing it right.
Thank goodness the E-Money show with Evan Money and Chris Iaquinta is doing it right.
20050427
LIFE - My 0.15 minutes of fame...
Looks like I'm on telly tomorrow on Campbell Live (Seems they were filming when I was at the Classic last week). That's my 'fro you can see bobbing in front, and possibly me dissing Brendon depending on what they show. LOL.
LIFE - :rolleyes: :yawn:
Yeah, yeah. Those don't work on Blogger. They should. Nothing going on. Being broke sucks. Work sucks. Wanna watch Office Space. Might start reading Dilbert again. Waiting for Sydney.
20050426
GAMIN' - Brothers in Arms
If you're much of a gamer (Xbox or PC), you're probably going to have heard of Brothers in Arms - Road to Hill 30. Just completed it this evening. I'd been looking forward to the game since I saw a preview of the game from last year's E3. My Grandfather (Col. Harry M. Kemp (Ret)) fought in WWII, and between his book, watching the likes of Band of Brothers and playing this game, it gives you a small glimpse of the extreme circumstances that these "average Joes" were asked to go through. I'm thankful everyday that I've not had to fight in a war myself.
Anyway...The game. The game rocks. Best WWII FPS out there. A little short, but I'm replaying on "Authentic" difficulty which certainly gets the blood pumping. The visuals on the PC are beautiful (You'll need a grunty video card. My GeForce 6600GT copes nicely). There are a lot of people saying that you should be able to lean around corners and crawl on the ground, and I agree these are two glaringly missing abilities. But an enjoyable game. Makes WWII FPSes like MoH and CoD look silly (Though CoD was pretty good too).
Anyway...The game. The game rocks. Best WWII FPS out there. A little short, but I'm replaying on "Authentic" difficulty which certainly gets the blood pumping. The visuals on the PC are beautiful (You'll need a grunty video card. My GeForce 6600GT copes nicely). There are a lot of people saying that you should be able to lean around corners and crawl on the ground, and I agree these are two glaringly missing abilities. But an enjoyable game. Makes WWII FPSes like MoH and CoD look silly (Though CoD was pretty good too).
20050425
LIFE, PAINTBALL - *sigh*
First off...Today is ANZAC day. Thank you to all the men and women who have fought to preserve freedom for those of us who've never had to fight for it, and for protecting those that can't fight for themselves. You will never be forgotten.
Well. We had our last practice before Sydney. Minor disasters included:
1) A one half scale (Incomplete) Xball field.
2) No blower to blow up the extra pieces of the field to complete the layout for Sydney.
3) Practice was team paint (Which is cool). So I put a case in the middle, but all 10 of my pods were already full of paint, so it was an expensive practice.
(And I hit the front of the car on a mount of dirt while parking, and the fog lamp popped out and won't stay in...)
Not the best "last" practice before Sydney. Hopefully we don't have to spend our time getting ready for the event in the first half of the first game.
The field design used at practice didn't lend itself to very diverse play, so I don't think we (Well I certainly wasn't) were able to get mentally prepared for Sydney. However I'm sure we'll lift it when the time comes. Problem is, all the other teams are going to have improved. Have we improved enough?
Well. We had our last practice before Sydney. Minor disasters included:
1) A one half scale (Incomplete) Xball field.
2) No blower to blow up the extra pieces of the field to complete the layout for Sydney.
3) Practice was team paint (Which is cool). So I put a case in the middle, but all 10 of my pods were already full of paint, so it was an expensive practice.
(And I hit the front of the car on a mount of dirt while parking, and the fog lamp popped out and won't stay in...)
Not the best "last" practice before Sydney. Hopefully we don't have to spend our time getting ready for the event in the first half of the first game.
The field design used at practice didn't lend itself to very diverse play, so I don't think we (Well I certainly wasn't) were able to get mentally prepared for Sydney. However I'm sure we'll lift it when the time comes. Problem is, all the other teams are going to have improved. Have we improved enough?
20050421
LIFE - Classic
Lou and I went to The Classic comedy club last night, since her daughter is in Wellington for school holidays, and Megz is down there for work. Lou and I received our usual table (Front centre), and were joined by Karl Burnett and friend.
Brendan Lovegrove was the MC for the evening. I've seen him three times in the past 5 months or so, and since he got back from the UK, he's been using the same material. I politely pointed this out to him while he was on stage (It's not heckling, it's audience participation :-), and he proceeded to spend the rest of the evening trying to pick on me, with varying degrees of success.
His aim to humiliate me by first dressing me in a felt hat and flower boa (Below) failed. I was then given a yellow baseball hat, fluffy bunny rabbit and tennis racket handle. And then finally I was covered in an old stage curtain, all of which I took in my stride. His final comment was "I don't really know how to deal with you". LOL.
A couple of impromptu appearances were made by Danny Bhoy and Rove since they're in the country for the Oddfellows NZ International Comedy Festival, which was pretty cool. I cracked Rove up during his intro by whispering “whaka”. LOL. Those that watch either Rove, or Campbell Live will understand. One of the best Fresh Comedy Wednesdays we've been to for a while.
Brendan Lovegrove was the MC for the evening. I've seen him three times in the past 5 months or so, and since he got back from the UK, he's been using the same material. I politely pointed this out to him while he was on stage (It's not heckling, it's audience participation :-), and he proceeded to spend the rest of the evening trying to pick on me, with varying degrees of success.
His aim to humiliate me by first dressing me in a felt hat and flower boa (Below) failed. I was then given a yellow baseball hat, fluffy bunny rabbit and tennis racket handle. And then finally I was covered in an old stage curtain, all of which I took in my stride. His final comment was "I don't really know how to deal with you". LOL.
A couple of impromptu appearances were made by Danny Bhoy and Rove since they're in the country for the Oddfellows NZ International Comedy Festival, which was pretty cool. I cracked Rove up during his intro by whispering “whaka”. LOL. Those that watch either Rove, or Campbell Live will understand. One of the best Fresh Comedy Wednesdays we've been to for a while.
20050420
GEEK - Heh...
Episde 5 of of Pure Pwnage is a homage to RvB and Episode 6 is dedicated to all you Wow n00bs...LOL.
LIFE - FFS
Since pay day is out of the way, finally sorted the blown tyre from the trip to Wellington. Got a few quotes from a few places. Settled on one, and booked her in today. Here's how it went:
"$220 per tyre, all up, including GST, fitting, balanced and everything". He wrote in brackets below that (Wheel alignment $67.00). Now when he says "...and everything" I presumed the wheel alignment bit was pointing out that the wheel alignment was $67.00 of the $440.00 all up for the tyres, but oh no...It's "$440.00 , all up, including GST, fitting, balanced and everything", PLUS $67.00 for wheel alignment... For f%$# sake! So it was $507.00 all up.
...So there's $507.00 we didn't have spare gone. Three mortgage payments this month. Xball in Sydney. Perhaps I can't afford to be playing two series...:-(
"$220 per tyre, all up, including GST, fitting, balanced and everything". He wrote in brackets below that (Wheel alignment $67.00). Now when he says "...and everything" I presumed the wheel alignment bit was pointing out that the wheel alignment was $67.00 of the $440.00 all up for the tyres, but oh no...It's "$440.00 , all up, including GST, fitting, balanced and everything", PLUS $67.00 for wheel alignment... For f%$# sake! So it was $507.00 all up.
...So there's $507.00 we didn't have spare gone. Three mortgage payments this month. Xball in Sydney. Perhaps I can't afford to be playing two series...:-(
20050419
GEEK - Y'know. They're like n00bs..lol
Takin the piss outta gamer geeks, 733t $p3@|<, it's Pure Pwnage You'll know from the blurb if it's your bag.
INTERWEB - Awesome...
Subject: [flickr] A present from Flickr HQ to say thank you!
Hi repete!
You may have heard on the grapevine that we planned to reward our dear Flickr members who bought a Pro Account in the early days. Well, it's true! And since you're one of those lovely people, here's a little something to say YOU ROCK!
1. Double what you paid for!Your original 1 year pro account has been doubled to 2 years, and your new expiry date is Mar 10, 2007.
2. More capacity! Now you can upload 2 GB per month.
3. 2 free Pro Accounts to give away to your friends! This won't be activated for a day or two, but when it is, you'll see a note on your home page telling you what to do.
Thank you so much for putting your money where your mouth is and supporting us, even while we're in beta. Your generosity and cold, hard cash helped us get where we are today.
Kind regards,
The Flickreenies.
Hi repete!
You may have heard on the grapevine that we planned to reward our dear Flickr members who bought a Pro Account in the early days. Well, it's true! And since you're one of those lovely people, here's a little something to say YOU ROCK!
1. Double what you paid for!Your original 1 year pro account has been doubled to 2 years, and your new expiry date is Mar 10, 2007.
2. More capacity! Now you can upload 2 GB per month.
3. 2 free Pro Accounts to give away to your friends! This won't be activated for a day or two, but when it is, you'll see a note on your home page telling you what to do.
Thank you so much for putting your money where your mouth is and supporting us, even while we're in beta. Your generosity and cold, hard cash helped us get where we are today.
Kind regards,
The Flickreenies.
20050418
GEEK - Cool
A Half-Life 2 fan? A machinima fan? Have a look at this awesome music video done using Half-Life 2. Not a HL2 or machinima fan? Have a look anyway...:-) I recommend the hi-res version if you've got the bandwidth.
LIFE - Wow...
This past April 13th marks the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. If you have some time, have a read of this article. It's long, but IMHO, really worth it. I'm sure many of you have seen Ron Howard's movie of the mission, which is a fabulous piece of dramatisation, but the story is truely amazing. Wow.
20050416
GAMIN' - She's back...
After the abortion that was Tomb Raider - Angel of Darkness, Eidos is back to publish another Tomb Raider game. From this press release, it seems Crystal Dynamics is sitting down and taking a good hard look at how not to f$%& this game up. Hopefully back to basics, cause I loved the first games. The new Tomb Raider site has launched, so if you're a fan, have a look.
LIFE - Meh
Just doin the domestic thing...Woo hoo. I'd rather be ballin. That's next week. Think I can live that long. Left my keys at home yesterday. Set of the alarm trying to see if there were some spare keys somewhere. Dork. Sucked at Yahtzee last night. Got issue 193 of PGI though, so that was cool. There's even some pics from AXL event 1 in Rocky (Centre of the universe that Rockhampton is...:-)
20050415
INTERWEB - When is a standard not a standard?
Damn you Microsoft...In Mozilla, my links to the right display correctly, i.e. "Always", "Compulsory", "Paintball" and "Whenever" are all headings on their own lines. But with Interweb Exploder, "Compulsory" and all headings below appear on the same line as the link below. Damn youuuuuuuuuu!!!!! *echo fades away in to the distance*.
LIFE - Talkin bout my g-g-g-generation
Here's a thought. Is the generation gap closing? Are those in their 30's and 40's more able to relate to those in their teens and 20's nowadays (Okay. I still think hip-hop is crap, but I won't yell "Hey you kids! Turn down that noise!")?
I think it is likely that the generation gap is taking a beating. Many adults leaving having kids till later in life, and basically staying big kids themselves. And I think technology is helping as well. In years gone by, adults probably didn't understand half the noise spewing out of kids’ mouths. Now you just need to look it up on Urban Dictionary.
When I was about 11, I was speaking to my Grandfather (My Mum's dad), and he told me that in his seventies, he still felt like he was 17. Perhaps in future, age won't have quite the meaning it does today.
I think it is likely that the generation gap is taking a beating. Many adults leaving having kids till later in life, and basically staying big kids themselves. And I think technology is helping as well. In years gone by, adults probably didn't understand half the noise spewing out of kids’ mouths. Now you just need to look it up on Urban Dictionary.
When I was about 11, I was speaking to my Grandfather (My Mum's dad), and he told me that in his seventies, he still felt like he was 17. Perhaps in future, age won't have quite the meaning it does today.
20050413
LIFE - What a day...
I think the word is "frantic"...@_@. Everyone seemed to want a piece of me today. And it aint over yet...
20050412
20050411
LIFE - One day perhaps I'll understand...
Okay. "Nice guys finish last". Near truer words were never spoken. This thread on Fark talks about this article (I haven't RTFA'd as it's siteblocked through our proxy and apparently isn't worth reading anyway.)
Why do chicks like bad boys and then come crying to the good guys when they've been trampled on. Someone gets it (Clicky-pop for better view):
Why do chicks like bad boys and then come crying to the good guys when they've been trampled on. Someone gets it (Clicky-pop for better view):
20050408
GEEK - *insert gnashing of teeth*
Ok. Situation is. Two TV's in the house. No audio on the TV in the bedroom now. Not economical to repair. Requirement = The ability to watch or record two programs at the same time. Replacement options include:
1) New TV (29" cheapo TV - $328.00 from Dick Smith). Can't record, strike 1 - not cool, strike 2 - strike 3?
2) Use something like Snapstream's Beyond TV, plus Beyond TV Link to extend our existing PVR's functions to all PCs in the house. Will require the purchase of something like a Hauppauge WinTV PVR500MCE (Same price as the TV from Dick Smith).
...Problem is, do I go with something like SageTV or Beyond TV? Neither have native on-line guides for NZ. Then there's always Windows XP Media Center Edition. I don't want to get stuck down some alley with one product to find it doesn't do what I want (Research indicates web scraping XML guides have a history of working one minute, and not working the next). Spoke to someone the other day at Microsoft. On-line guide for MCE is coming. No it won't be here soon...:-(
1) New TV (29" cheapo TV - $328.00 from Dick Smith). Can't record, strike 1 - not cool, strike 2 - strike 3?
2) Use something like Snapstream's Beyond TV, plus Beyond TV Link to extend our existing PVR's functions to all PCs in the house. Will require the purchase of something like a Hauppauge WinTV PVR500MCE (Same price as the TV from Dick Smith).
...Problem is, do I go with something like SageTV or Beyond TV? Neither have native on-line guides for NZ. Then there's always Windows XP Media Center Edition. I don't want to get stuck down some alley with one product to find it doesn't do what I want (Research indicates web scraping XML guides have a history of working one minute, and not working the next). Spoke to someone the other day at Microsoft. On-line guide for MCE is coming. No it won't be here soon...:-(
20050407
LIFE - Wellers
A question I'm getting asked a lot is:
"When are you and Margaret moving back to Wellington?".
...After 3.5 years in Auckland, I'm over the Auckland thing. Yeah, there's lots of stuff to do here, but Auckland has no soul. The difficulties in moving back to Wellington are:
1) This is where my job is
2) This is where Margaret's job is
3) This is where our mortgage is
4) This is where most of Margaret's friends are
...I'm 50/50 on moving back. When/if my family moves back, that would probably be a big thing for me that would push it up to 99/1 to move back.
So what can be done in the mean time? If you want Megz and/or I to move back, drop her an e-mail to "margaret (at) rtfm (dot) co (dot) nz". I'm sure that would belp...:-)
"When are you and Margaret moving back to Wellington?".
...After 3.5 years in Auckland, I'm over the Auckland thing. Yeah, there's lots of stuff to do here, but Auckland has no soul. The difficulties in moving back to Wellington are:
1) This is where my job is
2) This is where Margaret's job is
3) This is where our mortgage is
4) This is where most of Margaret's friends are
...I'm 50/50 on moving back. When/if my family moves back, that would probably be a big thing for me that would push it up to 99/1 to move back.
So what can be done in the mean time? If you want Megz and/or I to move back, drop her an e-mail to "margaret (at) rtfm (dot) co (dot) nz". I'm sure that would belp...:-)
20050406
LIFE - Grrrrrr
Two factor authentication may be more secure than just a password for remote access, but when you leave your ID token at work, and go to a seminar and have to VPN in, not having your token is really handy..>:-
Knee's stopped hurtin (Rock on). No one can afford to hold an Auckland practice before an ANZAC weekend practice. And if you owe Marty money from Easter, PAY UP bitch. Poor _OLD_ (Sorry...:-) Mr. D shouldn't have to carry the can.
Watching "End of Suburbia". Look it up. I'm not a doomsayer. Just a realist. Hope you're good at growin food.
Knee's stopped hurtin (Rock on). No one can afford to hold an Auckland practice before an ANZAC weekend practice. And if you owe Marty money from Easter, PAY UP bitch. Poor _OLD_ (Sorry...:-) Mr. D shouldn't have to carry the can.
Watching "End of Suburbia". Look it up. I'm not a doomsayer. Just a realist. Hope you're good at growin food.
20050405
LIFE - Nerds! Neeeerds!
X-E. Star Wars. Midnight Madness
Who would dress up in a Star Wars costume? Nerds!!!! ;-)
PS - Just to clarify. I am a geek, not a nerd...And I only wore the stormtrooper costume once...:-) (The stormtrooper costume at the spacey parlour on Manners Street across from Pigeon Park in Wellington used to belong to yours truly. But that was several lifetimes ago...:-)
Who would dress up in a Star Wars costume? Nerds!!!! ;-)
PS - Just to clarify. I am a geek, not a nerd...And I only wore the stormtrooper costume once...:-) (The stormtrooper costume at the spacey parlour on Manners Street across from Pigeon Park in Wellington used to belong to yours truly. But that was several lifetimes ago...:-)
20050404
LIFE- Back to the salt mines
I guess I had to go back to work some day. Still feeling pretty...What's the word? Lethargic. Still on the antiboitics. And the knee started hurting during the middle of the night and stopped me from getting a good night's sleep, but at least I can walk, and the abrasion has healed up nicely. Hey. It's only been a week.
I'm just gonna try to self-physio. Don't think I'd need to see a proper physiotherapist about it. Hopefully I'll be up for a light training this weekend if it's going ahead, and should be ready for the training over ANZAC weekend.
I'm just gonna try to self-physio. Don't think I'd need to see a proper physiotherapist about it. Hopefully I'll be up for a light training this weekend if it's going ahead, and should be ready for the training over ANZAC weekend.
20050403
LIFE - Hmmm...Lasanga
stick did it, so I will too..
| You are Garfield You scored and 88 Fat Cats! |
| I bet you even eat Lasagne for dinner every night, you're a true Garfield lover, well done |
 |
My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Garfield Test written by readerlee on Ok Cupid |
PAINTBALL - Show me the mo-nay
It's been advertised for a while, but I've only just got round to listening to it, and that's the Evan Money Action Sports Show. This is a paintball radio (Not webcast) broadcast out of the City of Angels in California. Episodes are available for download though.
A little more pollished than FB Radio from 68caliber.com. I'm just working through the back issues, but I think this is something I'll listen to in future.
A little more pollished than FB Radio from 68caliber.com. I'm just working through the back issues, but I think this is something I'll listen to in future.
20050402
20050401
LIFE, PAINTBATLL - Reports of my demise...
...have been partially exaggerated. As per my last post I was down in Wellington for the first NZPPA event for 2005. The event went well. Nightmares of the tournament being shut down by OSH did not eventuate. Field was interesting. Venue was cool. Hybrid came second which was both cool and sucked at the same time, and Hybrid ST showed some talent. The thing that the event showed was that Hybrid is a force to be reckoned with. I look forward to the future of the team. Congrats to Saints for the victory.
The "players party" was pretty low key, but still enjoyable. Davie, Davie, Davie. Tisk, tisk. Sounds like some kept going to the wee hours.
Massive thanks to Darren and Kate for putting Megz and I up. Kate's folks have a beautiful house. And Darren makes rockin french toast.
Now afterwards there were two things that sucked. One, getting a flat tyre early in the trip. Fortunately Big Sy was there behind us on his way back to Auckland and lent a hand. Turned out our wheel brace didn't fit the after market wheels. So we when to Super Cheap and got another. Right size for the nuts, but the walls of the socket wouldn't fit in the holes on the wheels. Fortunately I was able to get hold of Link and he used his angle grinder to "customise" our wheel brace. It takes a long time to get to Auckland on a space saver tyre. Long trip home.
Then to cap it all off, it turns our I REALLY banged up my knee at the tournament. I played through Sunday with a bandaged knee and pumped up on Extra Strength Panadol, adrenalin and Red Bull. Unfortunately an infection got in through the abrasion on my knee. I'm on antibiotics for a week and a half, and I've been off work this week. I've been feeling pretty wasted actually. And it's banged up like a sonofabitch...XBall practice here I come.
The saving grace was the purchase of Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball for the Xbox while I was in Wellington. On problem. I don't have an Xbox. Well. Didn't have an Xbox. To any tournament player. Get GHTP! You will like it. I promise.
Oh. And finally got a copy of Dynasty Dissected. Yes, it may cover the basics, but it covers the basics well. This DVD should be compulsory for all tournament players. I'm on a mission to make sure members of Hybrid have all bought a copy. Thanks B$ and the Dynarats (I don't think you can call them that any more. They're all big and grown up now).
And get this. I'm watching Dissected, and Megz is reading on the couch. She looks up and says, "Who's that?". "D'uh. It's Ollie Lang. You met him at HB", I answer. "Oh. He's cute.". replies Megz. *sigh*. How am I supposed to compete with that? ;-) She think's Ryan's cute too. Well I have his pants! So there!
The "players party" was pretty low key, but still enjoyable. Davie, Davie, Davie. Tisk, tisk. Sounds like some kept going to the wee hours.
Massive thanks to Darren and Kate for putting Megz and I up. Kate's folks have a beautiful house. And Darren makes rockin french toast.
Now afterwards there were two things that sucked. One, getting a flat tyre early in the trip. Fortunately Big Sy was there behind us on his way back to Auckland and lent a hand. Turned out our wheel brace didn't fit the after market wheels. So we when to Super Cheap and got another. Right size for the nuts, but the walls of the socket wouldn't fit in the holes on the wheels. Fortunately I was able to get hold of Link and he used his angle grinder to "customise" our wheel brace. It takes a long time to get to Auckland on a space saver tyre. Long trip home.
Then to cap it all off, it turns our I REALLY banged up my knee at the tournament. I played through Sunday with a bandaged knee and pumped up on Extra Strength Panadol, adrenalin and Red Bull. Unfortunately an infection got in through the abrasion on my knee. I'm on antibiotics for a week and a half, and I've been off work this week. I've been feeling pretty wasted actually. And it's banged up like a sonofabitch...XBall practice here I come.
The saving grace was the purchase of Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball for the Xbox while I was in Wellington. On problem. I don't have an Xbox. Well. Didn't have an Xbox. To any tournament player. Get GHTP! You will like it. I promise.
Oh. And finally got a copy of Dynasty Dissected. Yes, it may cover the basics, but it covers the basics well. This DVD should be compulsory for all tournament players. I'm on a mission to make sure members of Hybrid have all bought a copy. Thanks B$ and the Dynarats (I don't think you can call them that any more. They're all big and grown up now).
And get this. I'm watching Dissected, and Megz is reading on the couch. She looks up and says, "Who's that?". "D'uh. It's Ollie Lang. You met him at HB", I answer. "Oh. He's cute.". replies Megz. *sigh*. How am I supposed to compete with that? ;-) She think's Ryan's cute too. Well I have his pants! So there!
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