got nuttin'

New Zealand General Election 2011 - The drinking game edition

2011-11-23T15:35:00.003+13:00

Firstly - Yes. Two blogs in 24 hours (For like the first time in a year and a half). Technically one of them was only because Twitlonger was (is still?) broken (?) or something yesterday.

Secondly - Right. The New Zealand General Election 2011 is this weekend. Please vote everyone!

Lastly - So here we will be on Saturday evening, watching the election coverage, and for some reason, my second thought is "How can this get turned into a drinking game?".

Now by no means do I recommend anyone drink irresponsibly, and you should certainly, never, ever, EVER drink and drive. This should be obvious based on how low-key the rules for the drinking game are as listed below.

So my rules for the New Zealand General Election 2011 drinking game are:

Every time one of these occurs, you take a drink of whatever you're drinking, be it beer, wine, spirits, mixer, whatever...

* Every time the word 'referendum' is mentioned.

* Every time your electorate is mentioned (People in Epsom will probably get wasted)

* Every time the MP you voted for is mentioned.

* Every time there is a display of 'how seats in parliament will look based on current projections'.

...Think I'll run with that. Probably kinda tame, but that's all good. Might manage to think of a few more.

A response to @vijilkiwi

2011-11-22T12:04:00.008+13:00

In response to:

https://twitter.com/#!/vijilKiwi/status/138737146432458752

...based on:

https://twitter.com/#!/repetenz/status/138724132929024000

...prompted by:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/election-2011/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503012&objectid=10767794

Rob, the answer to your question lies at the heart of the question itself. This - http://i.imgur.com/Zkdwx.jpg - is not an "industry". This - http://i.imgur.com/UwD8J.jpg - is not an "industry". This - http://i.imgur.com/IMBqZ.jpg - is not an "industry".

Education is by far the most important human endeavour. Without education, we are simply sitting in a cave banging rocks together. You go and ask ANY educator, and I'll sit here and wait...Pop down to a school (Your nearest school - ANY school) and ask anyone there involved in education for their thoughts on personality tests for teachers, and 100% of them will oppose it, and they will ALL give you a much better answer than I possibly can. Or find someone who lived in Nazi Germany in the 1930s for their thoughts on this. I promise you, they will all oppose the idea.

So this personality test? How about we have this test to weed out National supporters? Still support personality tests in education? Anything else we should weed out? Critical thinking? Dissent? Yes. Just be quiet. Be a good little teacher/student, and do what you’re told. There's a good job waiting for you when your education is complete. Just be good. Be quiet. Conform to 'this' personality profile or you can't be a teacher. Shall we conduct personality tests for students as well, and weed out the undesirable students who will disrupt the rest of the class?

This is the thought police, and has absolutely no place in public education what so ever. If you REALLY want a good answer to this question, go to a school and ask. Seriously. Let me know which school you went to, who you spoke with, and what their answer was.

Goodbye America

2010-01-22T23:35:00.002+13:00

R.I.P. - 1776-2010

Nero fiddles while Rome burns, and the Visigoths are at the door.

LIFE - My little baby

2010-01-21T22:32:00.002+13:00

So today is my first baby's fourth birthday. My little girl is growing up so fast. This evening she was sitting in her new bed, smiling as she listened to her pegasus music box. Brought more than a few tears to my eyes. Happy birthday Kiki. (Photo to come).

20091120 - An (NZ) rant

2009-11-20T10:59:00.008+13:00

Alright. I'll take a sec to make a comment on a subject that I don't often comment on, and that is New Zealand politics. The reasons I don't often do this are:

1) Kiwis are relatively private when it comes to discussing politics and religion (And these two subjects are things that have little influence or impact Kiwis in their daily decisions)

2) New Zealand politics are fairly banal, and generally low impact, particularly when it comes to foreign policy.

3) I've largely given up making any comments on any political subject because it feels like I'm pissing in the wind.

4) I generally don't have time.

...So my comment is this, and I'll start with a question. How many Kiwis are aware that the NZDF has decided to deploy LAVs in support of our SAS personnel serving in Afghanistan? This of course in addition to Army personnel deployed in reconstruction efforts.

I suspect the answer to this question is "Not many". I put this down to a failure on the part of the New Zealand media to give the matter any real coverage. Unfortunately the news in New Zealand is heading down hill. Detail in stories is getting smaller, we're getting more quick coverage across a spectrum of subjects (Good if you want your information to be broad. Not good if you want your information to be deep) and more puff pieces are flowing in. I refer primarily to the TV news here. New Zealand doesn't actually have a source for hard news really. You can watch stuff from overseas, but this fails to cover New Zealand issues like the ones above.

I actually (Politely) asked three Kiwi work mates their thoughts on this subject recently, and one of them stutteringly tried to answer the question, with a look of shock on his face that I asked the question, and the other two quietly shuffled their feet while looking at the ground, not even bothering to answer the question. Kiwis are good at burying their heads in the sand some times. Not when it comes to hard work, but certainly when it comes to hard questions.

So on the matter of the LAVs. Sure. The reason behind deploying them has some merit in that they will make our SAS personnel there more safe (grammar check suggests “safer”. I’d have received a wrap on the knuckles for that while I was at school) than they currently are. This doesn't belie the fact that our SAS should not be in Afghanistan in the first place. For arguments of "Helping the people of Afghanistan", "Spreading [sic] freedom and democracy" and "Rebuilding a failed state"*, the SAS are actually there to curry favour with the United States relative to a free trade agreement. So what this means is, New Zealand military personnel have potential to die in a country with which New Zealand is NOT at war, all to sell more butter in the United States. Keep enjoying your National lead government. I told you so. How's that tax cut your were lied^H^H^H^Hpromised?

So if you don't have a problem with the LAV deployment, do you have a problem with Hercs being sent as well? How about artillery? How about more support personnel? Where does it end? And what will you say when someone turns their attention on New Zealand and says "This is for your support of the imperial aggression on the part of the United States"? The US doesn't even know what it's doing there. What are we going to do when the conflict in Afghanistan spreads even further than the worst kept secret of (Illegal) CIA drone attacks in Pakistan? So why are we assisting in a conflict; the basic purpose of which those who are carrying it out is in question. But that is another thing I've ranted over before. The US is over. Seriously. I've given up, and I'm just watching the country spiral down the drain. I have no faith that a real positively transformative figure can be elected to president in the United States. The country will collapse through its own debt, which is a result of ignorance and greed. The parallels with the end of the Rome cannot be ignored. All empires end. It's China's turn now. The only question is, do we destroy our environment while we’re at it.

* For anyone who wants to use this argument in support of what's being done in Afghanistan, I hope you're not a hypocrite and have plans to invade other failed states to carry out the same efforts.

20091117 - FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU

2009-11-17T11:45:00.004+13:00

OMFG! I don't miss doing end user support. FYI, I'm the IT Security Manager (With a shortage of Security Engineers, thus the DIY in this case). So one of our mail servers gets blocked as a spam relay. I found this is due to an end user who has had their username/password compromised. So I call them as say "It would seem someone has figured out your password. Can you change it please?" (So a real rocket scientist to begin with), then I get:

"Ah. While you're here, can you tell me how to stop mail from going in to my junk folder?" - User

"Sure. Are you using Outlook?" - Me

"Yes" - User

"When you have a message in [...snip...I won’t explain the whole thing here] right-click and select ‘Add to safe senders’ or ‘Add sender’s domain’ if you want anyone from that domain/organisation to be able to send to you". - Me

*silence*

*more silence*

"Do you understand?" - Me

"No" - User

*My blood pressure rises. I take a calm breath, explaining it again and walking the user through each mouse click*.

"Ah. Ok. Thanks for that. Hey, it’s good I have you here, as I need to ask you another question. I need help opening an .ISP file" - User

"Did someone send it do you?" - Me

"Yes" - User

"I'm not familiar with an .ISP file so you'll probably need to ask the person who sent it to you what you need to open it with" - Me

"I think it's Outlook or something" - User

"Do you mean a .PST file?" - Me

"Ummm...Yeah. That’s it" - User

"Ok. In Outlook, select the 'File' menu"...*waiting*. "Have you done that?" - Me

"The what?" - User

"The ‘File’ menu option" – Me

"Where’s that?" - User

*My teeth are gnashing and my heart is thumping. Deep breaths. Deeeeeeeeep breaths*.

"Top left hand side of Outlook. Can you see it?" - Me

"Yes" – User

"Select that, then down to select ‘Open’, then down and across to select ’Outlook Data File’. *waiting*. Have you got that?"- Me

"Yes".

...To cut a long story short, when then spend *minutes* trying to select his CD-ROM drive in the ‘Open’ window, to find that because it’s read-only on a disc that we have to copy it off the disc (This takes more minutes), have to tell him how to open the file again, when we get there he says:

"It says ‘Open with’" – User

*Me struggling to remain calm*

"Just select the file, and press the ‘Open’ button.

"Where’s the ‘Open’ button?" – User

*Me screwing up my face in frustration*

"Bottom right hand side of the window, next to the ‘Cancel’ button" – Me

"Ok" - User

*silence*

*more silence*

"It’s all gone" – User

"What’s all gone? Is Outlook still open?" – Me

"I’m not sure" - User

"Alright, well we seem to be having some difficulty with this, so if you can contact the Help Desk, they will get some support staff to come and give you a hand with this" - Me

"Alright" – User

*click*

The next technical hurdle

2009-09-12T11:04:00.002+12:00

Question: Google Reader solved the problem of a centralised service to view RSS feeds on whatever machine I might be on. Now the next similar problem. [Video] Podcasts I download. Previously I'd watch on either my laptop or my iPod which sync'd with my PC. Now that I have my work laptop, I'm not taking my home laptop to work, so I'm not sync'ing by iPod as frequently. Additionally, I might not always be at either of my laptops. I may not have the ability to access my iPod (Though this isn't common), but the fact that it is probably out of sync with my downloaded podcasts is.

So. What is a centralised method of viewing podcasts (That have probably already been downloaded)? One that keeps track of ones I've watched and deletes them, i.e. one that works like Google Reader.

LIFE - And death...

2009-06-16T17:00:00.002+12:00

So many times over the past few weeks, I've thought to blog something, but I couldn't until I got this one out of the way. Most who read this blog will already be aware, so this is more about me just getting it out there.

My father passed away on Sunday the 31st of May after suffering from a massive stroke. I flew over to the US at short notice and he was still on life support in the ICU when I arrived. But in reality, my father was already gone. I think this single detail has made it hard to believe that he's actually died.

When my grandfather (My mum's father) passed, I was there before hand. I got to talk to him, and I was there for the few days while he slipped away. I saw it happen, so I could accept it. With Dad, as I say, since he'd had the stroke, he wasn't really there. It's not about saying goodbye. Getting to say goodbye doesn't make it easier. It's just that it wasn't Dad lying in the bed at the hospital. He was already gone. With him being the prankster that he was, I keep expecting him to walk around a corner and say "Gotcha!".

And because of this, it just doesn't feel real. And that's making it hard to accept it. Not like denial as in not able to accept it. I feel lost. Like I'm waiting. I think I'm waiting for him to call or something. But he won't be. I'm not sure where this goes...

LIFE - A quicky

2009-05-22T15:16:00.003+12:00

Things are kinda busy for a number of reasons. One of them is I am trying to cut down on the want-to-do's and make sure I'm not sacrificing the need-to-do's (One example being sleep). At the end of the day there just isn't enough time to squeeze everything in. Sleep. Wake. Work. Eat. Time with the wife. Time with the kids. Time with the dog. Work on the property. Time for me? Hah! It does come in dribs and drabs. I can't complain as, for example, I saw the new Star Trek movie twice during opening week. But it always seems like I'm trying to cram an hours relaxation in to half an hour, and thus it is not relaxing. I caught up with my bosses' boss (And with any luck, my soon to be boss) for a beer after work to talk dad to dad with someone who's about five years further down the track than me. And when I said, "About the only time I'm guaranteed to get to myself is after 10 p.m.", and he said "Me too". The problem there is, you don't get enough sleep, you're late for work, and then everything is a downhill slide.

So this week I've started going to the gym at work during lunch (Lunch being an hour which was me time, i.e. I could fill it with what I wanted instead of what I need, i.e. going to the gym). And I'm now tracking my food intake and exercise online. Never really thought about it, but it's kinda fascinating when you examine what you're eating, how much, and what it's all made of (Protein, carbs, fats - good and bad, etc, i.e. the type of things the telly has dribbled on about but I generally roll my eyes at, predominantly because it's targeted at neurotic females who worry about their weight so they can keep up with the Janes. The science side of it is interesting though). Bottom line is, it appears my diet it ok (Though in tracking what I eat I'm more conscious of the crap), and if I up the exercise, that should counter the slight belly developing since I'm not getting any younger.

LIFE - Truth

2009-05-02T00:52:00.007+12:00

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Am I looking in the wrong direction?

Am I asking the wrong questions?

Even if all the the answers to the questions above are "No", am I '...doing it wrong'
?

This is a jumbled post. I've thought of a number of things this evening that I've wanted to say. Some of it because I've had a few drinks, and obviously in this state, thoughts flow like water. I've had disussions with friends this evening, and some of them can be sumarised as 'You're right. But your wrong.'. So which am I? I guess the answer is, I'm right for me. But what I seek is what's right for us all. A universal truth which applies to us all. Some people are kind. Some are not. Some people are happy. Some are not.

Some of the discussions this evening has centred around things that some people have done to others that have made them unhappy. Things that others have done which have impacted the relationships of those people so that they do not like each other. I don't understand this. And this lack of understanding makes me think that I don't have an understanding of the world that surrounds me, so that any conclusions that I come to are incomplete because I have led a sheltered life, and have an incomplete (Innacurate) picture of the world. And an incomplete picture that makes finding the universal truth impossible.

Across all of thing, regardless of what I do and do not know, there are people in this world for whom I owe much. Obviously my mother and father for whom if it was not for, A) I would not be here and B) for whom I would not be the person that I am. I love both my parents very much. They honestly can't know how strong my fealings for both of them are. Words fail. Only feelings can convey, and I hope they know this.

Following this closely is my wife. My beautiful kitten that I have been with for more of my life than I have been withough. When times are tough. When times are not easy, and the kids are crying, and the dog has peed on the floor again, and when dinner is late, and the laundry hasn't been done, and I'm late home from work, and I haven't done the things I was supposed to, I feel awful because I have failed you. I have failed to be there for you to do the things I need to do to make things easier for you. I love you more than I can say. If it wasn't for you my dear Margaret, my life wouldn't be in the wonderful place that is it. I honestly thank you more than I can say for giving me the wonderful things that I have in my life.

To my brothers and sisters. One of my largest regrets is that the best opportunity in my live, moving to New Zealand, has removed me from partaking in our lives as I would hope to have. What ever happens in our lives, I love you all and if there is anything you need, I am here for you, no questions asked.

To my beautiful daughters. You are both the most wonderful things in this world and the hardests things to deal with. You are such a contradiction. How is such a thing possible? My biggest concern in my life is, regardless of all else, is that I do not fail you. That I give you the platform in your lives that launches you on your ways to happiness and to make those around to happy.

To my friends who are also my family. Most of you I have known through paintball over the past decade. I look at you as brothers and sisters. We've shared many good times over the years, many of which have formed key moments which have had a dramatic impact on the person I have become. Not a day goes by in which I don't think "I remember when...".

So the point of this post? I'm lucky. I'm so lucky and suck muck more lucky than many. In my life I have nothing to complain about, as hard as things might be from time to time. To all those for whom I owe thanks, I thank you. these words fail me, but I feel a genuine thanks which radiates from my heart and which truely make me happy, which is the most important thing in the world.

POLITICS - It's about time...

2009-04-24T12:32:00.003+12:00

I started watching MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann some time back after viewing one of Keith's Special Comments calling out the Bush administration on one of the billions of BS moves they carried out. Olbermann was one of the few people in the MSN calling it like it was, and trying to call out the Bush administration on their lies and hypocrisy, unlike most other members of the Forth Estate who sold us on the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, and don't ask the hard questions to ensure they got access and to sell advertising space.

Unfortunately since Obama has been elected, Keith has spent far too much time in the honeymoon period going "Yay! Isn't Obama great?!?!? He's not Bush!". If this is your sole unit of measurement, as to whether or not someone is or is not a 'George W. Bush', then you're asking the wrong fucking question.

So finally...FINALLY! Keith makes a Special Comment on the bullshit that Obama is carrying on with. At least he's not Bush is not enough! I'm not talking economic stimulus. I'm not talking about rearranging the deckchairs of US foreign policy. I'm talking about the rule of law. "I'm wanting to look forward not backward" is political bullshit from Obama and is exactly what people believed "Change" was meant to change. Change doesn't just mean there used to be a white guy and now there is a black guy. It is a shame that it seems much like FDR and LBJ, that the president needs people to push him to do the right thing as opposed to an ability and willingness to do the right thing of his own accord. Obama is trying to make everyone happy all of the time. So sitting back and saying "Hey! He's not Bush!" will change NOTHING. If I did not have two dependants and a wonderful wife who is a home maker and mother, I would have flown back to the US and I would be doing something about it!!!

GEEK - Fun with Mice

2009-04-17T13:33:00.002+12:00

This will be a fairly lame update, but it still made me roll my eyes.

Two annoyances (?) with mice:

1) Sitting there moving a mouse around, wondering why the cursor isn't moving, and realising you haven't plugged the mouse in.

2) Sitting there moving a mouse around, wondering where the cursor is (Made worse by having four screens at work), and no matter how much you move it around, you can't find it, until you realise the cursor is caputured in a virtual machine window, and it is moving around in the upper corner of one of the the upper monitors.

*sigh*.

LIFE - My goodness

2009-04-12T22:47:00.002+12:00

How far Schoolhouse Rock has come. From:

...to:

LIFE - Hypocrisy

2009-04-07T11:23:00.004+12:00

Perhaps when I contact people in the media (Primarily the indepenent media, and not the MSN) who are covering current events, and I ask them:

You have shed a light on the hypocrisy undertaken by those in power, whether it is political or corporate power. What am I supposed to do now?

...I NEVER get an answer to this question. _NEVER_. And in my heart of hearts, I believe the reason I do not get an answer is because people don't want to say what the only answer is, for fear of retribution. This fear may be perfectly warrented in light of things like warrentless wiretapping and The Patriot Act.

In William Black's Interview with Bill Moyers on his Journal, in answer to Bill's question (To paraphrase):

"How do we solve this problem?" [At approx 26:00]

William Black states states:

"Get rid of the people who have caused the problems" [27:15]

...These people WILL NOT go quietly. So let that answer the question of what needs to be done to resolve this problem. Do the people have the stomach to do this? Not yet. We'll see what happens when unemployment in the US hits 25%-33% (And that's not fudged unemployment figures, but the real thing.)

Life - Earth Day...Grrr.

2009-03-31T12:36:00.002+13:00

K. Here is the aggravating thing about Earth Day. Turning things off when you don't need them = A good idea. Only doing it for an hour when there is some 'hip' event on is BS. It's like green-bling, which is a fucking oxymoron if ever there was one. It's like running out and buying a Prius or installing solar panels just because everyone else is. Power crisis? Turn stuff off to save power! How about turning shit off all the fucking time when you're not using it, whatever is going on around you! *sigh*.

MONEY/POLITICS - You're being robbed

2009-03-24T10:38:00.003+13:00

Here's a question. Someone breaks in to your house, holds a gun to your head and says "Give me money". What do you do? Well, firstly, you give them the money. You note their features and other details and when the crooks are gone, you call the police. If you're lucky, they catch the crim, perhaps you get some of your stuff back and, in theory, justice is served.

So here is the headline on CNN:

Dow posts best one-day gain since November -- nearly 500 points -- after Treasury details bid to buy bad bank assets

...Well of course it did. You're going to take on board all the debt, and they get to keep all the profit. Here's the analogy. A family member is in debt. You borrow money from a friend (Who will be charging YOU interest) and lend it to the member of your family. Will this person be able to pay you back? Hope so, as your mate who lent you the money will be coming around with the tumb screws if you can't pay him back. So in the mean time, the family member who you've lent the money to is going to the odd movie and out to dinner, and they're like "Well if I don't do these things, life will kinda suck, and I don't want my life to suck do I?".

You're being screwed. You're being robbed. In ten years time, when you've got no job, no savings, no healthcare, you're bankrupt because you can't pay your mortgage...What do you expect me to say? I'll ask you "What were you doing while you were getting mugged?" and your answers will be either "I was busy working", or "Nothing" or "I expected someone else to deal with it".

LIFE - I would never speed again...

2009-03-17T21:10:00.000+13:00

LIFE - PIO

2009-03-06T14:38:00.003+13:00

*sigh*. As I look around, everyone seems to be getting younger than me. Here are just two teeny, tiny examples. Damn it! I used to be the baby...:-(

INTERWEBS - FTW

2009-03-06T13:07:00.002+13:00

Whenever you see a funny video on YouTube, particularly if it has people chasing each other in it, the best thing you can do with it is apply the Benny Hill music filter. Here is the filter used to great effect in a video recently linked on Reddit.

LIFE - Ah the joys of life I have never experienced...

2009-03-06T11:46:00.000+13:00

...Thank you sweetie.

LIFE - We're here...

2009-02-11T11:38:00.002+13:00

Quick note, and I'll try to keep this simple. We have arrived. The roller coaster has reached it's peak, and it's time for the downward swoop. If you're watching the news and hearing about the US stimulus package being argued over in the houses of legislative branch and the executive, you'll see arguments over just how to sustain business as usual. A business that has failed. Many large US banks are insolvent. The only thing keeping anything going is the hope that the stimulus plan will inject some cash back in to the system. Let me give a simple analogy as to why this is not going to work:

You cannot pay off a credit card with another credit card if your future incoming isn't going to increase.

...And the USA's future income isn't going to increase. It doesn't make anything of any value that cannot be bought from elsewhere at a lower cost, and in tough times, cost is the deciding factor. Economic growth over the past 30 years in the US has been sustained by war, ever increasingly complex financial instruments which are ultimately just ponzi schemes, a tech boom, and a housing boom.

Don't get me wrong. I'm rooting for President Obama to try something that will make this crash easier, and by easier I mean people won't starve and freeze to death. I don't give a shit about luxuries. I'm talking about people making it through this with their lives intact.

Now the most despicable thing about this is, some will try to profit from this crash. IMHO, this needs to be made a crime. Just as war profiteering should be illegal (Try telling that to Halliburton), profiteering from any attempts to get economic recovery going should also be illegal. But it's not. And it won't be. So somewhere, out of the billions (And the actual trillions that have already been spend and more that will continue to be spent), which your children and your children's children will end up paying for the bill, someone will be taking their cut.

What is the end game? When those who are profiting out of this exercise say, "Time to pay the bill", and you say "But I can't. All I have is my life", and they will say "Well that will do then"...

Life - Happy Birthday to my angel

2009-01-21T10:15:00.002+13:00

Happy third birthday to my angel Kathleen. I hope you enjoy your special day!

Love,
Daddy

DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOUR ARSE ON THE WAY OUT!

2009-01-21T10:12:00.002+13:00

Goodbye. Farewell. Fuck off!

Also, please be sure not to leave the country as federal prosecutors will be looking to speak with you shortly regarding some of your activities over the past eight years...

GEEK - EEK!

2008-11-26T11:44:00.003+13:00

Guess I'm finally used to Vista. I was looking for "Programs and Features" in the XP Control Panel...@_@

LIFE - Updates

2008-11-25T10:29:00.002+13:00

I have fallen off the wagon when it comes to coffee...:-( I'm basically back to having a cup a day. 50% of the time it is because I simply enjoy a nice cup of coffee and the other 50% is because I need it for a perk up. So at least I'm not having three a day.

Additionally, I have now done some pretty ruthless culling against my RSS feeds. I have chopped out a bunch of them that were funny when I found them, i.e. lolcats, etc, but have become too much work to keep up with the flood with little reward, i.e. the signal to noise ratio in these has tended towards the noise side as of late. I've kept the Failblog because it never fails to entertain. What remains is some of the heavy hitters though, e.g. MSNBC's Countdown and Democracy Now! which are basically an hour each, each day. Who's got time to watch two hours of news each weekday (Let alone regular NZ news on telly)? And when to I watch The Daily Show? Never any more really. Now When BSG starts up I will make the time! Hopefully when we move, Margaret and I will have a little more time to watch some of the programs we used to watch. We got so used to the telly being in the bedroom, that since it was moved back to the dining room, we don't really watch anything in the evening.

GEEK - Kewl...

2008-11-16T01:35:00.000+13:00

GEEK - 99% painless

2008-11-10T11:06:00.002+13:00

So I've been meaning to do s dist-upgrade under Ubuntu for a week or so to install Intrepid Ibex (8.10). My last in-place upgrade to Hardy Heron didn't go well and I ended up doing a reinstall from scratch. This time however, it was simple as. Only a few probs (Some IO-APIC error on boot but it carries on normally after that, the usual problems with graphics drivers though these were overcome very easily with the default prompts at the first boot, and VMWare not working as usual though this is down to kernel dependencies and I've resolved that often enough that I should be able to sort it again). The cool thing is, the whole upgrade was basically click a few prompts. I've actually put more effort in to writing this blog entry than upgrading the OS. So rock out...:-)

POLITICS - Hope...Not!

2008-11-06T22:54:00.009+13:00

Alright. So the election is over. Barack Obama is the President-elect. The question is 'now what?'.

Obama's campaign can be summed up in a few things. Primarily in these words - People's HOPE for CHANGE. I hate to point it out. EVERY non-incumbent political candidate runs on change. Everything is the other guys fault. And if you vote for me, we can fix everything. Yes we can!

Pragmatism is what will kill this ticket of hope. Compromise of the ideals that the campaign started with is what will kill hope.

My predictions. I'll take bets on these of any value you care to take. And I'm not the only one saying these things. Add Ralph Nader in this speech, Cynthia McKinney (US Green Party candidate for the 2008 US Presidential election) on Democracy Now!, as well as Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Glenn Loury on Bill Moyers' Journal on PBS:

1) Number of US troops in Iraq will not change in the next two years in any meaningful way.

2) When/if they do change, those troops will be redirected to Afghanistan.

3) The war in Afghanistan will continue to spread in to Pakistan, and Pakistan will continue to disintegrate.

4) I do not know what will happen with Iran. I will tell you that, if the current administration had the manpower, it would have initiated hostilities with Iran. But it is stretched thin between Afghanistan and Iraq. What is hard to say is if the saber rattling that had been done to date will force anyone's hand in future.

5) Those responsible for the mess in Iraq will not be held accountable for their actions. And if you do not set a precedent and punish politicians for behaviour like this (Clinton gets impeached for a fucking blow job, and NOTHING happens to Bush or Cheney over ANY of the SHIT they have done!), then they will keep on doing it.

6) Nothing will change in Israel because the United States' unconditional military and financial support for Israel will continue.

7) The deployment of US military power around the world will not change.

8) The bailout of Wall Street will continue. It will require a little more money here and a little more money there. None of which will achieve the desired result. None of the people who created this Ponzi scheme will be held accountable. Alan Greenspan says "Oops. I was wrong. The invisible hand of the market won't necessarily look after itself". Duh! I've been screaming that to you for years you hack!

9) Unemployment in the US (And around the world) will continue to climb.

10) House foreclosures will continue unabated.

11) The system of funneling wealth upwards will continue and the gap in wealth distribution will continue to widen, and the middle class will continue to be squeezed towards the status of working poor.

12) The US budget and trade deficits will continue to grow. It was funny, I had someone say "The market conditions will help make US exports more competitive". How much does the market have to change to compete with someone earning dollars a day? Who is going to invest in the manufacturing infrastructure in the US? The US doesn't make anything any more.

13) Oil will head back up as OPEC lowers production because they don't like where the price has gone over the past few months, so we'll be back on track for $200 per barrel oil.

14) NOTHING meaningful will be done about climate change, because 1) We will continue to wait for technology that is 20-30 years away from deployment, if it can be developed at all, 2) Over the next 20-30 years, greenhouse gas emissions will continue to RISE. They aren't going to plateau. They aren't going to go down. They will continue to rise, against a backdrop of already emitting too much. Doing what needs to be done to combat climate change is completely incompatible free market capitalism that requires year on year of sustained economic growth, and you're seeing what happens now when it doesn't grow. It collapses. It doesn't run steadily. If you're not making at least 5% compound growth on the year before, you're going backwards.

We needed a revolution. Obama's 53% of the popular vote is not a revolution. It is not a mandate. Obviously it is barely over 50% of the vote. It is historic. It is amazing. I’m much happier with this result than I would have been had McSame been elected. But all that has happened is the coin has clipped. And in two years, when nothing changes, the Republicans will be back for the mid-term elections saying “See! He hasn’t changed anything! Vote for us!”, and the wheel will make another turn.

I've had some people say to me that they are more optimistic, that the people of America are capable of sacrifice. That they are capable of making the fundamental changes necessary to to stop the Titanic from hitting the iceberg. As I've said before, and I'll say again. You've just voted for rearranging the deck chairs. I've said before, something needs to be done, and you've said "We will. We'll vote!". And you've voted. I hope when things don't change, and you don't get the result you wanted, that you will really do something about it next time.

LIFE / POLITICS - History

2008-11-05T22:18:00.003+13:00

One would imagine that today, Martin Luther King Jr is looking down from above (If that's the way it works) in joy as the President-elect of the United States is an African American. This is an historic occasion. Now President-elect Obama really has his work cut out for him.

GEEK - Dream machine - Mobile computing

2008-11-04T14:14:00.003+13:00

Don't worry Margaret. I haven't found some new toy I want. In fact, this dream machine doesn't exist (To my knowledge).

Back in the day when every victim and his dog had an iPod I had a 2.5" IDE (Laptop drive) hard drive enclosure based MP3 player. I liked it because I didn't have to use iTunes, I could just drag and drop files through Windows Explorer (Or whatever shell in whatever OS I'm using at the time). This thing died when the 2.5 mm Philips headphone jack came away from the PCB inside the device. I was bummed...:-( It still works as a portable drive, so I must find someone who needs a portable drive, and they can have it.

So I looked high and low for a new portable drive/MP3 player. A new enclosure like the one I had was going to be $200 (For the enclosure alone), and this device had its own limitations, such as it ran off the internal battery, even when doing read/write operations while connected via USB. A large read/write would kill the battery (In the middle of the task...Grrr) and I'd have to wait for it to charge again, so this thing wasn't at the top of my list to purchase again. Additionally, it was a few years old and didn't play back DivX files that hadn't been specifically trans-coded for it, or MP4 (H.264), etc, not that I was watching a lot of video back when I bought it.

Now I'll divert to the side, to talk video. A while back, about the time I was seconded to IBM, I started watching video on my bus-then-train trip from Island Bay to Petone. Initially I started watching these on my PSP, which I had previously purchased for this purpose (That, and with a keyboard which I'd heard was coming for the PSP, plus the PSP's Wi-Fi and browser, I was intending to use it at a mobile computing device). As the video content I watched diversified in terms of content and source, the need to trans-code the content to a format for the PSP became a bit annoying. The key thing was I'd download something overnight, not have time to trans-code it before work, and have to wait another day before I could watch it. This was particularly annoying with news programmes. Then I got my Sony VAIO UX-180 PC (Or UMPC). This solved all the limitations of the PSP and created new opportunities for use (Though at a cost in dollars). Interestingly, one of the advantages of the VAIO was its size meant I always had it on me. This is something that has changed since purchasing my Sager notebook, and changed even more with the use of my 80 GB iPod Classic, but more to come on that later. So with the VAIO I no longer needing to trans-code the content and life was good.

What wasn't happening, when my drive enclosure died, was portable music. When I was somewhere walking around, I'd always have my music going, as many people with iPods do. Over time, this missing service became very annoying. I tried to use the VAIO for this but A) It couldn't hold my whole MP3 library and B) it was like carrying around a brick for an MP3 player. Fine if I had my man-bag (Though it would heat up while on in the bag), not fine if I didn't. Now I shopped around, and it is a fact that you cannot get a high capacity (Over say 8 GB) MP3 player in NZ at a reasonable price, that is not an iPod. I suspect this would be a different story if Microsoft's Zune was available in NZ. The cool thing about the iPod's price is, Apple subsidies the price of the hardware with the expectation that they will make up for in purchases through the iTunes store. I don't like the iTunes store (Much like I don't like iPods and the iTunes client) because they are proprietary to Apple. I'm not some huge Open Sores advocate, but I can buy a laptop for Toshiba or Dell, and sure they both have Micro$oft Windows, but at least I have some choice and I can go put Ubuntu on it if I want. If you want an iPod, it only comes from Apple, and everything to do with it comes largely from Apple (Excluding third party accessories). So in the end I caved and bought an 80 GB iPod Classic as mentioned above, and it was great. I had all my music back, and I was able to use it as a portable removable drive, something I thought I couldn't do, as I thought you could only put stuff on it via iTunes.

So a little while later I noticed that most of the videos I was downloading from places like C-Net, TED, Bill Moyers Journal on PBS, Democracy Now!, etc were already formatted as MP4/M4V (H.264) and could 'easily' be placed on my iPod, a device I now had on me even more frequently than my VAIO. This, in combination with the fact that I now had my Sager notebook on me (The primary source for downloading my daily video content, as opposed to the TV torrents coming down on our server at home), meant I'd reached the goal of being able to watch whatever I wanted, basically wherever I wanted. What this has in turn evolved in to is a situation where I don't have enough time to watch all the video I'm subscribed to, much the same for all the RSS feeds I follow via Google Reader (And part of the reason you’ll find 40+ tabs open in Firefox when you see my machine. This MUST be a common scenario over the world as people's exposure to digital content *EXPLODES*. I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with it. Prioritisation is the probable answer, but not one I like...:-(

So this diatribe above gives the context for my dream portable device. And this device has the following specs (These are all MANDATORY, excluding the camera. Don't bother pointing me towards a device that is missing ANY of these specifications):

* The full-screen touch screen of the iPod Touch/iPhone/HTC Touch HD, etc.

* The capacity of an iPod Classic (i.e. 80+ GB).

* The slide-out QWERTY (Not AZERTY!!! Shut up Marty. Long story) keyboard of anything like the HTC Touch Pro, etc. People have asked why the hardware keyboard and not to just use the soft keyboard on the iPhone, etc. I hate having my screen real estate of whatever I'm trying to look at (Web, etc) or write (E-mail, document, etc) taken up by a bloody keyboard!

* Exchange integration (My killer app for e-mail, calendar and contacts).

* Media playback including MP3, MPEG-4/H.264 (Plus DivX would be a bonus)

* Wireless including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and available with CDMA or GPRS (I don't care which, as long as both are available for the choice) I'm not doing much mobile data yet for many reasons, including need, cost and the fact that my employer pays for my cellular data.

* Don't really care about the OS.

* A nice to have (Not compulsory though) would be a 3-4 MP camera with at least a x3 zoom.

...This device will achieve the last hurdle of merging my phone with my iPod. I'm sure this is coming. I'm a little surprised it's not here yet. I suspect there are three reasons 1) Cost (Though this is not a reason for some, and therefore not a reason unto itself), 2) patents (I'm sure there are some out there preventing this device from being a reality at this stage) and 3) Whatever other rats and mice of reasons that there are...

So yeah, there you go. I want one. Someday I'll have one. Just wondering why one isn't available now. I’d bet this device will run Google’s Android operating system. It won’t be from Apple, as I just can’t see them putting a hardware keyboard on an iPhone. Maybe someone will make a hardware add-on though I doubt it, and this would make the device rather large.

LIFE - TED...

2008-11-04T13:59:00.003+13:00

For a wee while now, I've been watching some video podcasts from TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design - Wikipedia link) on science, technology and other stuff (As implied by the name of the conference). Some mind blowingly amazing stuff (And yet another thing trying to cram itself in to my non-exist 'free' time, but that is relative and a long story).

This video (Embedded below) in particular was AWESOME. It's short, and easy to watch. Just amazing!

INTERWEBS / POLITICS / LIFE - True

2008-10-25T22:09:00.001+13:00

LIFE - I miss coffee...:-(

2008-10-17T10:02:00.002+13:00

I think it's been like two or three weeks since I gave it up. I went cold turkey since it coincided with a case of gastroenteritis. Every other day I'm like "I'd really love a coffee". My reasons for giving it up were 33% health related, 33% cost related and 33% pride related. But when I get a bad nights sleep, which has been three out of the past five, I feel like a complete waste of space at work. And on the days when I drive up to Palmerston North from Wellington, I can't make it in one go (Mind you I am getting up at 0530 on those days and leaving the house at 0600) and have to stop for a nap least I wake up driving on the wrong side of the road...:-( I miss coffee...;_;

LIFE - ZOMG!

2008-10-14T22:11:00.001+13:00

What I want for Christmas...

POLITICS - Veep debate in progress

2008-10-03T14:11:00.001+13:00

"President Joe Six-Pack and Vice President Hockey Mom - The mavericks!". OMFG.

POLTITICS - Don't want these guys to feel left out

2008-10-01T15:21:00.000+13:00

LIFE - More fun with spimmers

2008-10-01T00:34:00.001+13:00

[30/09/2008 11:50:20 p.m.] jonesaddo says: hi

[30/09/2008 11:53:32 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: hi

[30/09/2008 11:53:51 p.m.] jonesaddo says: hello

[30/09/2008 11:53:58 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: hello

[30/09/2008 11:54:03 p.m.] jonesaddo says: am jones addo

[30/09/2008 11:54:09 p.m.] jonesaddo says: from ghana

[30/09/2008 11:54:19 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: I'm Peter from New Zealand.

[30/09/2008 11:54:24 p.m.] jonesaddo says: ok

[30/09/2008 11:54:34 p.m.] jonesaddo says: how are u today?

[30/09/2008 11:54:49 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: I'm well. A little sick, but getting better. How are you?

[30/09/2008 11:55:15 p.m.] jonesaddo says: thank God

[30/09/2008 11:55:27 p.m.] jonesaddo says: am a banker

[30/09/2008 11:55:40 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: I am a Computer Engineer.

[30/09/2008 11:55:53 p.m.] jonesaddo says: ok

[30/09/2008 11:56:35 p.m.] jonesaddo says: i work with equity bank ghana limited

[30/09/2008 11:56:47 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Sounds fun.

[30/09/2008 11:57:20 p.m.] jonesaddo says: at home now for holiday

[30/09/2008 11:58:36 p.m.] jonesaddo says: i will like to discuss an important issue with u

[30/09/2008 11:58:44 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Oh?

[30/09/2008 11:58:55 p.m.] jonesaddo says: yes

[30/09/2008 11:59:33 p.m.] jonesaddo says: i will like u to read this so that u will understand me better ok

[30/09/2008 11:59:44 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: ok

[12:01:35 a.m.] jonesaddo says: like i told u that my name is Jones Addo a banker working with equity bank ghana limited in West Africa. In this bank existed a dormant account for the past years,which belong to a Syrian national who is now late.

[12:02:07 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Ok. Would you like my bank account number now or later?

[12:02:37 a.m.] jonesaddo says:
when i discovered that there had been neither deposits nor withdrawals from this accountfor some time I decided to carry out a system investigation and discovered that none of the family member or relations of the owner aware of this account.

[12:02:52 a.m.] jonesaddo says: are u reading?

[12:03:04 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_fraud

[12:05:51 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Hi Jones. Are you still there?

[12:06:44 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Jones?

[12:07:15 a.m.] jonesaddo says: This is the story in a nutshell. Now I want an account overseas where I can transfer these funds.

[12:07:51 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Ok. My account number is 12 3456 7891011 12.

[12:08:24 a.m.] jonesaddo says:
The amount at the moment, plus all the accumulated interest in this account stands at US$4,000,000.00 (Four million US dollars).

[12:09:51 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: You know, with the whole financial situation in the US at the moment, the US dollar isn't looking too attractive. Can you pay in Euros? Or Zimbabwean dollars?

[12:11:02 a.m.] jonesaddo says: i guess you are stupid

[12:11:17 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Me? Why do you say that?

[12:11:23 a.m.] jonesaddo says: u are not serious

[12:11:48 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Yes I am! Seriously! What more information do you need? I just want to help.

[12:12:04 a.m.] jonesaddo says: get out

[12:12:18 a.m.] jonesaddo says: fool ur self

[12:12:19 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Get out of where?

[12:12:58 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Jones?

[12:13:15 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Sorry, I just want to make sure I understand. Where would you like me to get out of?

[12:14:35 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Now Hones, you're not being very nice here. You come to me wishing to enlist my help, and now you call me a fool? Please, please, please, in God's name, let me help you.

[12:17:22 a.m.] jonesaddo says: get lost boy whoever u are

[12:19:22 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Jones, pleeeeease!!! I don't want to miss out on all that money! It's not fair! Please don't do this to me! I was stupid. I made a mistake! Please don't take this away from me! I...I don't know what I was thinking! I'll do anything you want! A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G! Please tell me how to access the funds of this long lost account in the name of a now deceased Syrian with no living relatives which has had no activity against it for a great period of time. Oh please!!!!!

[12:22:36 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Jones? Jones! You'd better tell me about this deal! If you don't my children might starve! Can you live with than on your conscience?

[12:24:38 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Jones! If you don't respond, I'm going to fly over to Ghana and kick your skinny little scamming arse! Do you hear me Jones?!?!? Tell me how I can get access to this US$4,000,000. TELL ME!!!!

[12:25:27 a.m.] jonesaddo says: u an ass hole ok

[12:26:02 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: No! I'm very nice person. Really. So. Back to where we started. You need my account number. I've given you that. What now?

[12:26:41 a.m.] jonesaddo says: now is urfather

[12:27:11 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Hmmm...I'm going to guess that English isn't your first language. Can you say that another way?

[12:28:54 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Jones, please. Can you restate your last comment? I don't understand.

[12:31:41 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Jones? Okay. Yes. I was an asshole before, but I'm over that. I've changed. I'm VERY sorry. I'm begging you! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!!!!

[12:34:07 a.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Jones! You have broken my heart and ruined my life! I'm going to kill myself now, and all because you wouldn't talk to me. Goodbye cruel world! And remember. This is your fault! *BANG*

POLITICS -How rude of me...

2008-09-26T10:59:00.004+12:00

I left out this fraudster:

LIAR

POLITICS - Too bad for you

2008-09-25T11:59:00.005+12:00

Here is the man who should have been the next US President.

And this man should have been his VP.

...Too bad.

POLITICS - LIARS!

2008-09-25T10:52:00.002+12:00

My conversation with a spimmer...

2008-09-24T19:57:00.003+12:00

My Skype conversation with a spimmer...

[12:26:37 a.m.] Mr Davi George says: Accept my apology for contacting you this way which was due to the urgency of my request I'm rather in a very precarious situation that warrants my talking very little till I confirm our business relationship. If its money please that'd be no problem, I just need to know if you are capable of handling large funds and you can be trusted. Presently I'm in the tight clutches of my native government who has amongst other things clamped my company and my freedom all in a bid to finance its reform programmes in the past few years.

I'm a construction engineer and a gold merchant before. The internet for now is my only uncensored link to the outside world and I'd appreciate it if you take me very gravely. You'd be well remunerated for your effort and assistance.
I would need your utmost confidentiality and complete honesty in the transfer of this funds. I would need to tell you that all required arrangements have been made for the transfer of these funds through a diplomatic service to your secured receiving address.

However, shipment would commence 48hrs once I am in receipt of your details which includes your telephone and fax numbers, secured receiving address as well as your mobile if any. The diplomatic is not aware of the content as funds but the Luggage's would be marked "Diplomatic Luggage's" and it should be within the both of us until you receive the Luggage's.

They offer door to door delivery as P .o box is not acceptable. The said funds is total $US 9.5 Million all in 100 dollar bills, I would be willing to give you 25% while the rest would be invested till I can travel to meet with you. Can you handle these funds? Can you be trusted? I would be waiting for your details so that we can proceed. Kindly reply to my mail davigeorge55@gmail.com

[6:48:12 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Hi there. I don't have access to to my e-mail at the moment. Are you able to to discuss the matter via Skype?

[6:54:20 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Yes

[6:54:40 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: We can talk on skype

[6:55:16 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Are you there to talk to me now

[6:56:01 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Cool. Let me just take a second to make sure I understand everything.

[6:56:15 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Ok Mr Peter

[6:56:45 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Right. Sounds interesting. How can I help?

[6:57:08 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: I want you to receive the luggage for me

[6:57:21 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: But i would like to know if you can be trusted and if you are capable of handling large fund ?

[6:57:25 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Okay. I'm fine with that. What shall I do now?

[6:57:35 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Certainly.

[6:58:19 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Very good, i want you to email me your residence address where the luggage will be delivered to you in 48 hours

[6:58:29 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: So that we can proceed

[6:59:14 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Like I say, I don't have access to my e-mail at the moment. I'm using a friend's computer. So is the first thing you need my address for delivery of the luggage?

[6:59:45 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Yes by then i can give you the security vault details for you to contact them for the release and delivery of my luggage.

[7:00:01 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: I want you to add me to your skype so that i can see you online.

[7:00:26 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: ok. okay.

[7:01:46 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: can you send through the add request again?

[7:02:59 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: I want to confirm your add to skype so that i can see you when you are online.

[7:03:21 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Yeah. Can you do it again? I accidentally closed it before.

[7:03:43 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: What do you mean

[7:03:52 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Can you try to add me again?

[7:04:22 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Ok i will do that again

[7:04:47 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: ok. done.

[7:05:17 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Very good. you can send me your residence address through here so that i can give you the security company details and contact

[7:06:17 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Alright. So that's Peter Hamilton. 54 Caliope Road, Palmerston North, 4412, New Zealand. Do you want a phone number as well?

[7:07:00 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Yes but i cant call you because i am in house arrest of my native government in Liberia.

[7:07:18 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: I will give you the contact details and what to write to the security company.

[7:08:04 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: You should note that this is highly confidential between you and me even the security company does not know there is fund in the luggage because its marked diplomatic.

[7:08:11 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: okay. My number is +64 6 382 9916. House arrest must suck. I hope I can help.

[7:08:54 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Yes i need your partnership to receieve the luggage for me 25% of the fund will be yours while we shall talk about what you will invest for the rest on.

[7:09:26 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: ok. Glad I can help.

[7:10:08 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Thank you.

[7:11:27 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Write an email message to the Vault manager now, stating that you are the Sole beneficiary for the luggage of Mr. Davi george, deposited on May 31st 2006, that you want the luggage deliver to you in the next 48hours, any further requirements he should contact you without hesitation. Make sure you copy me every email you send to him and every email you receive from him to davigeorge55@gmail.com

Name: Mr. Azeez Odusanya
Company Name: Rocket Security Vault Limited
Company Email: rsvlimited@rocketmail.com
inforocket@rocketmail.com
Office Telephone: +234-807-900-1587
Mobile Telephone: +234-803-739-1960

[7:13:34 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Did you get it

[7:14:32 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Yeah. Like I said, I don't have access to my e-mail since I'm using a friend's computer at the moment. I'm just trying to see what I can do. Do we have to wait until I can get to my e-mail?

[7:15:45 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Yes you have to email them and contact the security manager on his phone number

[7:16:03 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: So that i can send him an email too that you are the beneficiary of my luggage and he should ship it to you.

[7:16:19 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Pls dont mention there is fund in the luggage and this is between you and me.

[7:21:24 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: I want to get some rest and talk to you soon.

[7:22:23 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: I won't be online again for a while. Perhaps we can get thrings going now? The sooner we do, the sooner I can help.

[7:22:58 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Yes you should contact the security vault company and get back to me

[7:24:14 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: What do you need to call me about? I've sent the e-mail. I wonder how long it will take until we hear something. I guess maybe something will arrive within the next 48 hours?

[7:25:15 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: you should call them to acknowledge your email. and tell Mr Azeez that you are my beneficiary that i will aswell send him an email for him to confirm

[7:25:36 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: alright. hang on a sec.

[7:25:45 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Ok.

[7:26:41 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: hmmm...I'm just getting a funny beeping noise when I dial those numbers. Can you confirm they are correct?

[7:27:25 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Ok

[7:29:12 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: I've just realised I've given you a lot of info, but I don't know much about you. To make sure the trust goes both ways, can I have your address please?

[7:30:39 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Like i said to you that i am in house arrest which i can release it to you.

[7:31:02 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: You mean can't?

[7:31:39 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Sure i can, trust is what we need and i am here to make you my helper and partner to handle the fund for me, i am 56 years of age

[7:32:32 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: 1, GOVERMENT RESIDENCE AREA, MONROVIA, LIBERIA, AFRICA.

[7:33:44 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: That's an interesting address. No street or anything?

[7:34:15 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: There is no street as i cant go out even the internet is uncensored.

[7:35:58 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: alright. I can't get through to those numbers. It just makes a funny beeping noise. Let me check with my phone company to see what this means.

[7:36:28 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: How did you dial it

[7:37:39 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: To dial out of NZ, we add 00 to the font of the number. I'm just on hold with the phone company. Hang on.

[7:38:03 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: OK

[7:38:33 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Youu should make it 00 234-803-739-1960

[7:40:02 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Huh. My phone company says these numbers are blocked for some reason. They are finding out why for me.

[7:40:17 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Ok.

[7:40:31 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: I want to get some rest now because of my health

[7:40:50 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: what time is it there?

[7:41:03 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: You should keep me posted Mr Peter, Its 7:41am in Liberia.

[7:41:59 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: wow. It's 7:41pm here. That's funny. Have you ever been to New Zealand?

[7:42:22 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: No i have not been there but i have been to Australia.

[7:42:43 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: Mr Peter can we talk later, i need to get some rest now as i am sick.

[7:43:12 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Me too. I don't like Australia. Maybe I'll come to Liberia though. I've always wanted to go to Europe.

[7:43:34 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: I will talk to you when i am awake.

[7:43:38 p.m.] Mr Davi George says: (handshake)

[7:44:54 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Hey. I got an e-mail reply from that company. They said they'll send the luggage through. They're asking for payment to send the items. Any idea what I should do now?

[7:46:10 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Mr Davi?

[7:46:53 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Are you there?

[7:48:46 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: Okay. I've sent through payment for delivery of the luggage. I guess I just wait for delivery now.

[7:51:01 p.m.] Peter Hamilton says: I guess you're gone now. Let me know when you're back online, and hopefully we can carry on our conversation. I could sure use the money, and I'm glad I can help.

POLITICS - Liar liar pants on fire

2008-09-22T23:02:00.002+12:00

To quote a fellow redditor:

Ending the Iraq War: Failure
Stopping Wire Tapping: Failure
Impeaching a Criminial President: Failure
Pelosi: Full of Shit

Just another lie

Just like dear old Winnie. If NZ First get over 5% in the party vote at the elections, I'll seriously have to wonder about some people's scruples.

GEEK - What do you do...

2008-09-19T15:45:00.001+12:00

...when keeping up with your RSS feeds takes 25 hours a day? :-(

LIFE - The timeline

2008-09-19T10:41:00.002+12:00

Heads up. Here's how it's going to go down.

1) Right now, as you're aware, the US financial system is experiencing the precursors to the big meltdown. I'm not a doomsayer with my placard announcing 'The end is neigh!'. I'm not exacerbating the problem by pointing this out.

2) The complete meltdown is being held off by two things:

A) The 'market' is waiting to see what happens when these financial institutions go under or are bailed out.

...and:

B) The US Presidential election

3) So as the market continues to crumble, and some institutions are bailed out, and some are allowed to fail the outcome is, in some instances the investors lose and in some instances the US tax payer is left with the debt. You'll note this is a lose/lose scenario. There is no win. There is no magic economic recovery at the end of the rainbow. There is no credit card with a zero balance you can look at to pay for tomorrow's groceries.

4) Who ever the poor sod is who inherits the White House, it's too late. The Titanic has struck the iceberg. The only difference is Obama wants the deck chairs aft and McSame wants them forward. So while people are holding their breath, the outcome won't make much difference.

...So the result is, after a period of evaluation (No more than three months), after the US Presidential election and after Christmas (Because there are some that will say that you buying plastic crap from China with your credit card can breath life in to the dead corpse that is the US economy) it's time to pay the piper.

You need four things to survive:

Air
Water
Food
Shelter

...You'll probably find the bottom three cost you money (And some would love to find a way to make you pay for the first one). And if you're in debt or have no job then these will be hard to come by. I hope who ever you are and where ever you are, you're ready for the ride. It wasn't fun in '29, and it's not going to be fun this time. This is your final warning. Now STFU and get back to work wage slave.

GEEK - I want...

2008-09-18T15:07:00.002+12:00

...The HTC Touch Pro and the HTC Touch HD to have babies so I can have an HD with a sliding keyboard....Ummm. My underpants are all sticky now...:-(

LIFE - What's the difference...

2008-09-18T14:39:00.003+12:00

...between someone who works in marketing, a lawyer, a lobbyist and a politician? There must be a common seed to these people. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's genetic. Perhaps one day they'll test for this gene in utero like they do with Down Syndrome.

LIFE - My hero (Well one of them)

2008-09-18T12:37:00.001+12:00

Benjamin "Yahtzee" Richard Croshaw of Zero Punctuation.

POLITICS - A wasted vote?

2008-09-16T22:21:00.002+12:00

I've been discussing voting decisions with someone recently who said they were considering a vote for a third party in the US Presidential election. Obviously I've considered it previously, given my current options, but how on Earth is a vote for a third party in the US anything other than a wasted vote? As I said at the time, it may register as a protest vote, but the response from the pigs at the trough is of course "Your protest has been noted, now STFU and get back to work".

Glassbooth confirms what I already know, and that is out of the candidates available at this stage, I agree most strongly with Ralph Nader. But what the heck am I supposed to do when McSame wins by 1% over Obama, and I look at the votes which Nader got? You can argue stats all you want, but it is a fact that if those voting for Nader had to choose between Obama and McSame, that they would vote for Obama (Or any Democrat to make the generalisation), so a vote for Nader is one less vote for the Democrat. WTF are we supposed to do?

POLITICS - NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

2008-09-16T22:07:00.003+12:00

We'd just had eight years of an asshat who can't pronounce nuclear, we do not need this vacuous waste of space carrying on the tradition. I like my television, and I don't want the increased risk of throwing something at it by listening to someone say "nucular" for another four years!!!

LIFE - Just because I can...

2008-09-16T09:18:00.002+12:00

Told you so
Told you so
Told you so

The economy is fine! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

LIFE - Perhaps we'll know in a few months...

2008-09-15T16:10:00.000+12:00

...Indeed.

LIFE - Can someone please explain...

2008-09-05T14:26:00.004+12:00

When Russia invades a sovereign country, it is "...an act of aggression condemned by the international community..." (To paraphrase Dick Cheney), but when the US does it, it's spreading freedom and democracy, or ensuring national security.

The only people who are worse than the hypocrites perpetrating these acts, are the people who are allowing them to undertake these acts, in their names.

PS - If my country (i.e. the country I live in and consider myself a citizen of despite not having completed my citizen application) I would not be getting up in the morning, and going to work and going home and eating dinner and playing with my kids. I would be standing in front of the steps of my house of representitives DEMANDING an explanation, and if that explanation was as WEAK as the explanation being given by these crooks and liars, then I would have my torch and noose and I would do something about it!

POLITICS - PSSST. Hey you...

2008-09-05T12:34:00.003+12:00

[This post is not directed towards any specific individuals]

~~...Are you American? If not, you may ignore the rest of this post.~~ Stuff it. This applies to anyone voting anywhere.

Are you eligible to vote? If not, you might ignore the rest of this post, though it depends on how much you care about things, whether you can vote or note.

If you are eligible, are you planning on voting in the coming ~~US Presidential~~ election? If not, plainly and simply and with no excuses, YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT!

I've had soooo many people say "Well I didn't vote for Bush, so his Presidency isn't my fault". Two things here. 1) What have you done to discuss the matter of the direction US politics (and the day-to-day impacts to your life that politics creates) has taken over the past two decades (And the past eight in particular), outside of casual bitching with friends or family? 2) What have you done to ensure that the direction that politics takes heads in the direction that you want? I suspect the answer to both is "None".

From close observation of politicians in the US and NZ over the past seven years, I have lost all faith in politicians as a group of individuals. I have watched some honest people try to enter in to, or to succeed in politics, only to see them leave or struggle to achieve anything. Those that do succeed are those that are selfish. This probably applies to anything in life really, but I struggle to think of anything else that has as much impact on all of our lives as the decisions of the politicians that WE ELECT to represent us. From observation, politics is about one thing and one thing only and that is to get re-elected. Oh sure, somewhere in the are the hard decisions to be made that keep an economy and a country running. But deep down, every decision that is made is run through a filter of 'what will happen to my re-election if I make this decision?'.

My bull-shit meter is broken with all the crap flowing from the mouths of those running for office in both the US and NZ. Every word that leaves a politicians mouth is:

XYZ is a problem, or everything is broken. And electing me/my party is the solution.

Fuck you!

Now. Back to my original questions. If you do nothing more than vote. If you do nothing to interact with other people, particularly those who disagree with your perspective on things, then you are as much a piece of the problem as these politicians who you didn't vote for. Politics is now about getting 51% of the vote during the election, and then doing whatever the fuck you want to during your period in office (While applying your 'What will happen to my re-election if I make this decision' filter). And life has three camps. Those on the right. Those on the left. And those in the middle that the right and left fight over to get their 51%.

I wish everyone over thought things as I have been accused of doing. I wish everyone was capable of informing and educating themselves. But they are not. Some people can't. Some people don't want to. And if you want the things that you think are important to be represented, then you are going to have to fight to spread the word. Because the people on the other side are already fighting. And if you do nothing, then they will win.

And if your answer is "I'm too busy",then I'll say it now, and I'll say it later (When you're locked up in a prison camp after attempting to express your freedom of speech as things have finally got to the point where you can't take it any more, but it will probably be too late)...FUCK YOU!

POLITICS - Jesus-freak-hockey-mom for veep

2008-09-03T13:19:00.000+12:00

Good luck with that. EXACTLY the type of Yank who annoys the rest of the sensible world...

LIFE - Nice country you got there

2008-09-02T15:00:00.003+12:00

Amy Goodman and Two Democracy Now! Producers Unlawfully Arrested At the RNC

...A little light on detail, but if you care, look it up. If you don't, just go back to whatever you were watching on television.

POLITICS - Douchebag vs. Turd Sandwhich

2008-09-02T13:21:00.004+12:00

So here we are. The candidates and their veeps have been chosen. It's Obama vs. McCain. And as historic as the candidacy of Obama is, and as much of a 'change' as he might represent, I still look at those choices and feel that Americans have chosen the safe options. The same 'safe' candidates that always make it to this point, and not the real cold, hard look candidates who might really address the difficult choices that need to be made. But who am I kidding? The US President is just one person (Well....Along with their Administration). I believe it is much easier for one person to break things than it is for them to fix things. And that is if their motivation is to fix things.

I believe unequivocally that McCain represent a party that exists for one purpose only and that is to make rich, old, white men richer. The party of trickle-down economics. Oh. The benefits haven't trickled down to you? You must not be working hard enough...

So that leaves Obama. But what does Obama stand for? If you had to condense his principles down to a single factoid or collection of details, I don't know what they are.

So I have a candidate that I simply will not vote for. And this isn't based on blind, partisan party politics, but based on listening to what McCain has said, and in many cases has said again (Only in the opposite direction of something he said earlier). And a candidate that I am not sure of. Based on this, it's obvious where a 'no' vs. a 'maybe' will go. But it's not like I have an opportunity to vote for who I really want. For someone who will have looked to make some fundamental changes to the rules of the game. America is no longer the home of the free and the land of the brave. It is the home of the quest to get rich. The last grasp to secure one's own fortune while everything else falls apart. It doesn't matter who you vote for. If the imbalance of wealth does not change, and if the values between individual wealth and the commonwealth do not change, then the resulting direction of the US economy and everything that depends on it will not change.

That being said, those who are pulling the string DO NO WANT REAL CHANGE. They have the money. They have the power. And you and your namby-pamby vote will not get in their way. They already own your candidate, whichever side you choose.

LIFE - Baaaaaarrrrffffff!

2008-08-20T20:56:00.002+12:00

K. I've had a lot of things happen since I blogged last. And I'll get around to blogging them at some stage. But here I am, watching an old episode of Sunday with a story about the movie Mama Mia, which my wife and sister watched during the latter's recent visit.

Let me summarise why I (And many males) find Abba annoying. Women's reaction to Abba consistently seems to be summarised on a level of fantasy and dreams. Listening to Abba's lyrics and watching women react when an Abba song is played. It's all fantasy, which leads to unhappiness. "Why isn't life like fantasy?" they ask. Because it's real life. Get the fuck over it. Perhaps if you spent some time making your fantasies reality instead of just leaving them as fantasy, you wouldn't be pining over what wasn't, but which you wish it was. God it's annoying! Excuse me while I go throw up...

LIFE - ???

2008-08-06T16:08:00.000+12:00

I don't know why, but for some reason, someone's name popped in to my head the other day, and I don't know why I know the name:

Tessa Pederson

...Who is Tessa Pederson? Did I work with her somewhere, or go to school with her? I looked up the name on Old Friends, but got no hits. How fustraiting. 99% of people who I'd have worked with relatively closely are in my contacts, but nothing there. Who is she?

@_@

2008-07-29T13:10:00.002+12:00

So let me give you a scenario. I'm sitting in a cafeteria. The cafeteria is in the student union building of Massey University. I've got some lunch from the cafe. I am wirelessly connected to the Massey staff wireless network via my laptop. I'm munching on my lunch (Spag since you ask); listing to some Orbital on my iPod, going..."I must be in the twilight zone". And yet, this kinda summarises my experience at Massey so far. The default is open. The default is trust (Within reason). The first things when I walked in the door weren't:

1) Reduce costs
2) Reduce costs
3) Reduce costs

...And while cost reduction is surely in the back of someone's mind somewhere, or as an engineer is in my mind from an efficiency perspective, there is just something about this place. I know it is only week two, and one can't judge yet. But it is just so fundamentally different from anything else I have experienced previously. Obviously someday I will become as jaded as everyone does who's been anywhere for any length of time. But things here are just different.

The first things I noticed are the qualities I would use to describe the environment. Not specifically ITS where I work, but the University itself. Words like 'bohemian' and 'intellectual'. I don't imagine it is necessarily 'egalitarian', as I'm sure there are some egos around somewhere. Discrimination is something I have seen none of. Is this a university thing? Is it a generation thing? As I read somewhere, is this because the student body is of an age where their minds are broader than their waste-lines, which is a trend which tends to reverse with the marching advance of age? There are people here of all ages, genders, races, beliefs and abilities. It's just awesome to see. No over-dressed corporate snobs looking down their noses at someone in a pair of jeans. Surely there must be some type of snobbery around though, and I have yet to recognise it. At the end of the day, people are still people.

So as I said to the head of ITS while passing in the hall, "I think I've finally found the place I can call home". It's only taken a few years...:-)

LIFE - Coolness...

2008-06-24T17:19:00.000+12:00

Learn Magic Tricks at 5min.com

LIFE - And death. Bye George...

2008-06-24T10:45:00.004+12:00

The comedian George Carlin died on June 22nd. Two things I value very highly in life are people who can make you laugh, and people who can make you think, and George did both. As you can see, George was on 'My political dream team' as Secretary of State. Thank you George. Through your body of work you have left us with a legacy to remember and thanks to technology, we can still enjoy your efforts. And one way other the other, you either know now or you don't. I wonder which it is...

Oh. And while I'm here: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits

LIFE - Update

2008-06-19T10:39:00.002+12:00

So many things have happened over the past few weeks:

1) I have been offered the position of 'Systems Engineer - Security' at Massey University in Palmerston North.

2) We are unconditional on 34 Potts Road, Levin.

3) I resigned from DTSL again, but for real this time.

4) Mum and family are here from the States, and they will all be gone again before you know it...:-(

5) My sister Gayle will be here in a few weeks.

...Oh. And Hybrid went down to Christchurch to play some paintball at the 2008 Redz International (LOL..."International") Tournament. We won it. Had a blast on a road trip with the boys and playing with Todd and Seth from Lesion.

GEEK - TOYZ!!!

2008-06-19T10:32:00.002+12:00

First off, my G3 iBook is for sale on Tard Me. Go buy it!

Secondly, my Sager NP9262 is here!!! w00t! And even better, she is now triple booting Vista, OSx86 and Ubuntu. Once upon a time I expected to be quad booting with XP, but Vista has run better than expected.

LIFE - Ummm...Yeah

2008-06-19T09:22:00.002+12:00

Mum and family are visiting at the moment. And we plan to go out for dinner one evening. I was running late in the morning, so I drove rather than bus and train.

I get to the restaurant at 18:00 for the booking. I get out of the truck, grab my bag (As I don't want to leave my new lappy in the car), click the lock and close the door. Now as I'm standing there, I can hear something, and it seems strange, as there were no other vehicles next to me at the time, but the sound I hear is a motor idling gently, and a radio is going. I look down at the truck and go "Well that can't be you going", and I start heading to the restaurant door. But as I start to walk away from the truck, I think "Well why can't that be the truck? Where are the keys?". They're not in my pocket. So I put my hand on the bonnet, and sure enough, there is a vibration there. So I walk up to the driver's window, look down at the steering column to see the keychain dangling from the ignition. Nice one. So I've locked the keys in the truck and left the motor running and the radio on. Excellent...

I give Margaret a call at home since she's not at the restaurant yet, and ask her to contact the AA. She gets back and says the AA is $160 joining fee, plus a call-out fee, so she's organised a lock-smith instead. Hey AA. You missed out on some dosh. Sort that crap out.

Everyone else start's showing yup, and I say "Hey! Wanna see something funny?" and I take them to the truck. I say nothing, just waiting. A few wrong guesses, and then finally Richard says "The truck is running". Sure enough! So I tell them the whole story, which of course they all think is hilarious. Richard took a video which will be on YouTube at some stage.

Margaret arrives, and she rolls her eyes, as only a wife can roll her eyes at her husband.

After about 45 minutes the lock-smith shows up. Puts a wedge in the door. Inserts an inflatable mat, like the Riva-Rocci cuff on a sphygmomanometer. Puts through a coat hanger thingy which goes down under the window and pops the lock. All in about 30 seconds. $120 later and I have the keys to the truck.

The moral of the story is DON'T DO THAT!!!

GEEK - Windows Vista...Ball 1?

2008-06-10T14:55:00.002+12:00

Hmmm...So the new beasty arrived care of the family coming to visit from the US. And damned if the thing doesn't run Vista well (With a Core 2 Duo proc, 4 GB of RAM and a GeForce 8800GTX). Everyone who has seen it has said "Damn. This thing actually runs Vista at an acceptable pace". Yeah. I'm rather surprised. So OSx86 and Ubuntu come next...

LIFE - World's #1 Errorist

2008-05-24T22:32:00.001+12:00

Sorry for the hotlinking...

SPAM - Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, spam and spam

2008-05-21T10:50:00.001+12:00

Click here to enter. Make sure you use an e-mail address for which you don't mind getting spammed:

POLITICS - You Have Got To Be Kidding

2008-05-20T09:47:00.002+12:00

I'm starting to lose track of how many exit polls and interviews I heard with Americans who simply say:

"I will not vote for Barack Obama because he is black"

FOR FUCKS SAKE! Where do you people come from? When will your racist, discriminatory views die you fricking dinosaurs? If you get stuck with McCain because you won't vote for a black guy, I really seriously do give up on you.

POLITICS - Just fuck off already, please!

2008-04-17T21:15:00.000+12:00

GEEK - Windows Vista - Strike 3.5

2008-04-09T11:30:00.004+12:00

Couple of quick squirts...

I've left the Ron Paul thingy above, as I can still wish, even though it is not going to happen. I've slowly watched my choices for this year’s US Presidential election being whittled away (Well, basically Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul and maybe John Edwards). I'm basically left with Barack Obama now. And unfortunately, while I think he's a step in the right direction on some things, I don't think he will bring about the level of change required on a number of important issues (Poverty and wealth distribution, the power lobbyists have in US politics, foreign policy and unconditional support for Israel which fuels much of the conflict in the Middle East). If it came down to Clinton or McCain, I'm not sure what I'd do, as I don't want to give either of them my vote.

Now on to the subject mentioned in the title. Sorry Microsoft (We'll, I'm not really sorry at the end of the day), but I've now given Windows Vista three goes (One when it was first released, two about six months later when there were a number of updates released, and three since SP1 was released. My experience has been pretty much the same across all three occasions. Sluggish performance at just about anything. It is not a 'snappy' OS. Now my performance index is 4.5, so this machine is no slouch. But just about any single task (Generally media playback) seems to max out the machine's CPU. Whereas Windows XP, any of these individual tasks might suck up about 25% of the CPU. Admittedly this has all been on my existing machine which is about three to four years old now (Single core proc, 2 GB of RAM), but as I say, that performance index isn’t too shabby. Would be curious to see how it goes on some current hardware (Excluding my wife’s machine as mentioned below), but there have been delays getting my new laptop (Grrrrr).

As time has passed, Margaret's install of Vista has gotten slower and slower (As Windows machines do). I was going to rebuild her machine with Vista again, but SP1 isn't out for general release yet, and the copy I have is integrated with the install disk. So rather than install Vista (sans-SP1) and XP, we just went with XP. And her machine screams.

Really Microsoft. As much as anyone might try and talk things up about Vista getting better, the general perception about Vista is 100% accurate. The OS is crap. Your operating paradigm of "Must ship a new version of Windows every 5 years to make money" is flawed, as you A) pushed Vista out before it was ready, B) killed a lot of the things that might have been cool about Vista and C) left in a bunch of stuff which really does nothing anyway. Additionally I understand that things change from one version of Windows to another, but renaming every item in Control Panel and changing every task on how a PC is managed, wasn't really necessary. But if you'd left too many things the same as XP, people would have said "It's just like XP", and no one would have been compelled to upgrade. Sorry, but you failed.

LIFE - It's like deja vu all over again...

2008-03-12T15:47:00.003+13:00

Across my life, like many (Most?) people, I've had deja vu, ranging from fairly mild, to fairly strong. In the past couple of years, I've had some pretty way-out experiences:

1) While in Maine (USA) visiting family, we were out at a restaurant. I went outside to get something from the car. There was a path leading from the restaurant to the car park, and a set of stairs to climb which obscured the car park. Just as I was getting to the bottom of the stairs, I had a flash of two people, a female on the left and male on the right, walking towards me holding hands. As I crested the top of the stairs, there were these two people walking towards me, just as I'd seen. Freaked me out, and I rang back in to tell everyone.

2) While in the US on the same trip (When my Grandfather passed), we were all out for lunch at another restaurant. While we were sitting there, I saw my Grandfather behind and to the side of my mother. Mum looked at me, and asked me what the look on my face was. I said I'd just seen my Grandfather standing there. Mum looked straight in at me in amazement and said "He was just here. He said "Everything is going to be okay"".

3) A few weeks back, I was working on a problem affecting a server here in NZ. Guys in Australia were remote controlling the server as we worked on the problem. I had a flash in my head of an error message appearing. About 15 seconds later, the error appeared on the screen. The error had nothing to do with what we were working on. As a matter of fact, the error didn't mean anything to me. I was just floored.

4) Today while out shopping, I was about to give my contact details to the woman in the shop so they could get back to me. She put her pen to the paper, and I said "My name is Pe...", and we said in sync "...eter". Then she said "I knew you were going to say Peter". And I was like "WTF?", and she said, "You were projecting". So we spent the next few minutes talking.

...Back in the day, I didn't think much of this stuff. But particularly as they become more frequent and stronger, I want to know what's going on. I am not a religious person, but I believe I have the potential to be a spiritual person. I just need to figure out what's going on...

POLITICS - My dream team

2008-02-20T11:36:00.003+13:00

...for 2012 (Since there is no way it will happen in 2008):

President - Bill Moyers
Vice-President - Colin Powell
Secretary of State - Bill Cosby
Secretary of Defence - Robin Williams
Attorney General - George Carlin

...Unfortunately, none of these people would want these jobs, which is, IMHO, exactly why they should have them. There have been efforts to draft Moyers and Powell to these positions, but unfortunately they have not succeeded.

Now all these names are male. Some female suggestions are welcome.

GEEK - Cutie

2008-02-03T11:09:00.000+13:00

Putting together all of Kat's 'computerisms':

"Send an emall to mdrive at enstends.com"

...When Kat types on a keyboard she says she's sending "emall". M: drive is where our multimedia stuff is. "Enstends" is how Kat says EastEnders, which is Megz favourite television program. And Kat often says "[random-thing].com". And her mouse skills are getting good too...

P.S. To be greeted with Kat walking in with something in her hands saying "Dat's da M: drive Daddy. Load it". Dat's ma girl...:-)

LFE - Wow...22 years.

2008-01-29T14:01:00.000+13:00

Hard to believe it's been that long:

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

LIFE - From Kunstler's bog...

2008-01-15T09:26:00.001+13:00

"From time-to-time, I feel it's necessary to remind readers what we can actually do in the face of this long emergency. Voters and candidates in the primary season have been hollering about "change" but I'm afraid the dirty secret of this campaign is that the American public doesn't want to change its behavior at all. What it really wants is someone to promise them they can keep on doing what they're used to doing: buying more stuff they can't afford, eating more shitty food that will kill them, and driving more miles than circumstances will allow..."

The emphasis is mine.

LIFE - LOL

2008-01-15T09:20:00.001+13:00

I guess...

[Deleted - I thought I'd won. Really I was just on the upwards cycle at the time, and it just continues].

INTERWEBS - I haz dem

2008-01-14T14:25:00.000+13:00

I haven't blogged some of the cool things on the web as I've found them for a while. Not that anyone is reading my blog anyway. So an interesting thing stumbled across via Reddit:

richard hammond presents bloody omaha (the graphics)

LIFE - Lessons In Love

2008-01-12T08:10:00.000+13:00

There is more to this world than I can see, hear, taste, touch or smell.

I will not try...

I will not wait for...

I will not hope for...

I am making it happen!

TRUTH

LIFE - EX-TER-MIN-ATE

2007-12-28T00:04:00.000+13:00

So yeah. It's December. Lots of stuff goes down in December. And on top of all the usual craziness, it was my birthday. So Megz got me the 12" R/C Dalek I've been wanting for ages. He rocks! I think he's even cooler than my Optimus Prime. The Dalek terrifies the cats (As half of the videos on YouTube are of people doing with their Daleks), and Kat was wary of him to start, but now she likes giving him kisses and cuddles. She is soooooo doomed to be a geek. Good girl!

And then it was Kirfa (Kathleen's word for Christmas). I'm home for a couple of weeks, so I can help out a bit and spend time with the family. I dunno how Megz copes with the two of them while I'm at work. It's hard enough to cope with both of them when we're both home. This was Kat's first real Kirfa that she knew what was going on. She had a blast, and made out like a bandit. It was Dora the Explorer city. I think the only Dora thing she didn't get was Dora the Explorer Flavoured Water. Megz is now caught up on all the Sims 2 expansions and bits (We just need to find some time for her to play), Vicky got clothes and toys, and daddy got a pair of Bluetooth headphones, to replace the previous three pair (loooooong story).

So we’re all getting by. If there was anything I would have liked to have given my wife for Kirfa, it would have been a bottle of Free Time. I'm still looking for some, but everyone seems to be out of stock...:-(

GEEK - I WANT!!!

2007-12-20T14:46:00.000+13:00

POLITICS - Keep shopping...

2007-11-12T13:03:00.000+13:00

From:

"This is a signal difference from the Vietnam era, and not necessarily for the better. During that unpopular war, disaffected Americans took to the streets and sometimes broke laws in an angry assault on American governmental institutions. The Bush years have brought an even more effective assault on those institutions from within. While the public has not erupted in riots, the executive branch has subverted the rule of law in often secretive increments. The results amount to a quiet coup, ultimately more insidious than a blatant putsch like General Musharraf’s."

...Don't come asking me for help when the shit hits the fan. I'll just tell you that you should have done something about it when you had the chance...

TUBES - Kill me now...

2007-11-08T17:15:00.000+13:00

Find me on MySpace and be my ~~friend~~ stalker!

POLITICS - Too right

2007-11-07T13:26:00.000+13:00

Keith Olbermann sums it up exactly!

LIFE - Sums it up really...

2007-10-10T13:19:00.000+13:00

Couldn't have said it better myself

LIFE - What kind of superhero are you?

2007-10-10T09:35:00.001+13:00

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		75%
Green Lantern		75%
The Flash		70%
Iron Man		70%
Catwoman		65%
Superman		60%
Robin		55%
Supergirl		48%
Wonder Woman		43%
Hulk		40%
Batman		30%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

LIFE - Two updates in one day? WTF?

2007-10-08T12:35:00.000+13:00

Question for the God Squad'ers out there. If God created Adam and Eve (And they were perfect since God created them), and they lived in the Garden of Eden, and were cast out after the original sin, then God will have created all the things that happen to human being since we left the Garden. Some examples being:

Seborrhoeic Dermatitis
Dementia
AIDS
George W. Dickhead

...Nice God. Must remember to thank him some time.

LIFE - Odds and sods

2007-10-08T11:12:00.000+13:00

So we're out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and the post-game analysis has begun. And while the games are won and lost on the pitch, outside of that I'll say we lost because modern rugby is about:

* Selling little bits of dirt from rugby pitches All Blacks have played on.
* Selling little Dan Carter figures that can't stand up.
* What underwear Dan Carter is wearing.
* What colour jerseys the team will wear (Admittedly we didn't seem too fussed).
* Who's airing how much of 'someone else's' game footage.

...Modern rugby is all about the commercials now. Stuff this. I read in the US, that a while back, college football had increased in popularity at the expense of the NFL because of how commercial professional football had become. And the same thing is happening to international rugby. I'll stick with the Air New Zealand Cup. The All Blacks need to get back to their roots (IMHO) and focus on winning rugby, and stuff all this commercial crap.

Now. On to another topical subject. New Zealand's 2007 Local Government Elections. I saw in the paper that the initial receipt of votes would seem to be indicating an apathetically low rate of voting. Let me tell you this. There are people in Myanmar who have DIED recently to try and get the right to vote which so many of us take for granted. If you don't vote, then you have ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT to complain once about anything (Be is traffic, the cost of rates, where your kids go to school, the state of local healthcare, trash and tagging, how much is costs to go to the tip, etc). Vote damn it!

LIFE - Another test?

2007-09-21T13:30:00.000+12:00

Oh my...(Dang. Need to clean up the formatting if I can).

Pure Geek

43 % Nerd, 65% Geek, 8% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Geek, earning you the title of: Pure Geek.

It's not that you're a school junkie, like the nerd, and you don't really stand out in a crowd, like the dork, you just have some interests that aren't quite mainstream. Perhaps it's anime, perhaps it's computers, perhaps it's bottlecaps, perhaps it's all of those and more. Your interests take you to events and gatherings that are filled with people you find unusual and beyond-the-pale, but you don't quite consider yourself "of that crowd." Instead, you consider yourself to be fairly normal.

Which, you are.

Congratulations! You're the one on the RIGHT!

Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Professional Wrestling

Love & Sexuality

America/Politics

Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

This test tracked 3 variables. How the score compared to the other people's:

Higher than 28% on nerdiness

Higher than 91% on geekosity

Higher than 3% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid

LIFE - Update

2007-09-10T14:58:00.000+12:00

2nd (Again) still sucks arse!

And:

HUMOUR - Watching the grass grow

2007-09-07T12:48:00.000+12:00

So I overhear some of the guys at work talking about something, and a comment stands out about something being "...as much fun as paint drying". So I respond saying that "...competitive paint drying is actually quite interesting". And of the the others responds with "...it's up there with competitive grass growing...Lets watch that again in slow-mo". Had me howling...

LIFE - I don't suffer fools lightly....

2007-08-20T20:06:00.000+12:00

Wish I didn't spend so much time blogging about the negative nowadays. If you want the positive in my life at the moment, checkout my wife or my daughter’s blogs. You're supposed to accentuate the positive and all. However, being so busy with everything nowadays, it really takes something out of the ordinary to rouse me to blog. Such as:

This page

...And therefore:

Meh!

...Oh. While I'm here. Due to a power supply failure in the disk storage enclosure attached to our server at home, two drives dropped out of our RAID5 array, breaking the array and rendering the data inaccessible. Attempts to tell the controller "The drives are there. You are okay." didn't result in much. So I ran some array analysis software called RAID Reconstructor from Runtime Software (Who I presume don't mind me linking to their web page) and it wasn't able to detect the array config for cloning. So we've logged a call with them and they do a deeper analysis and fingers (And toes, and hair and eyes) crossed, hopefully they can assist with cloning the array so we can recover the data. If they are successful, it will cost US$299, but that is a fee I will gladly pay at this stage. A local crowd in NZ quoted NZ$3500 (Plus sundries) and they said that was discounting the price since I wasn't a business.

Now since I don't suffer fools lightly, you can imagine that, here I am, and IT engineer, and yes, yes, yes, I had no backups. I know. Dumbest thing in the whole world. Moronic. Idiotic. Utterly stupid. In my defence, when the array was built, I sunk all our funds in to the drives that make up the array, and couldn't afford a disk to back the approximately 500+ GB of data on the array. Well. We have our photos and music backed up to my portable drive. And since the array was built, backups have been out-of-sight, out-of-mind. So. Here's hoping...

Lastly, while updating my blog, I've just received a call from the Young New Zealanders' Foundation, part of who's focus is working to address the fact that New Zealand has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world (Which I fail to understand, with Godzone being one of the best places in the world to live). So if you've got a sec, and you think "I haven't made a charitable donation to anyone in a while" (And it is a crowded, competitive market), have a look at their website, and have a think.

LIFE - I'll say it again...

2007-08-05T23:56:00.000+12:00

Hey President Fucktard! Eavesdrop this!:

LIFE - The Police

2007-07-30T11:34:00.000+12:00

Got tickets. That is all.

LIFE - The end of an era

2006-10-26T22:46:00.000+13:00

Right. I haven't actually managed to post this on my blog yet, and I've done a patchy job of getting word out. We're moving back to Wellington. The details are:

I'm working for a company called Desktop Technology Services Limited (DTSL). DTSL is an IT vendor/managed service provider with a presence across New Zealand. My role is 'Technical Team Leader' for the Wellington Field Services Team, comprised of 16 Engineers. I've been looking for a year, and it's taken that long to find something I really wanted (I was a bit iffy on some of the job offers I'd received previously, and I came second for a few roles as well).

So off we go. Well kind of. I finish at Chubb tomorrow. I start in Wellington on Monday. Megz ad Kat were due to come with, however now that we're selling the house in Dorkland (Yay! I get to be a Wellingtonian again!), the agent has suggested that a furnished house will sell quicker and for more money, so the girls will stay behind for a while. We are expecting the house to sell relatively quickly. Getting a bit sad as the realisation of selling our home hits...home.

For those reading Megz and Kat's blogs, they are doing well. We've not got videos up on YouTube (Linked under 'My Videos' on my page and Megz'). Kat's been crawling for a few months, got her first three words come through over the past few weeks, being:

Psk (Pussy cat)
dada
muhmuh

...and she's pulling herself up to stand on everything. Can't wait till we start baby proofing in Wellington. Kat's going through this fussy eating/sleeping thing. May be due to stress around the house with the move. And more of that to come...@_@

On a geeky note, I am now completely OS agnostic. I'm running Windows XP/Server 2003/Vista RC2, Ubuntu 6.0.6.1/6.10 and now as a result of scoring a cheap Apple iBook G3 900 HMz machine from Grays Online (Cheaper than the silly reserves people expect for this spec machine on TradeMe), I'm running Mac OS 10.2.8. Hope to run 10.4.7 when I get to Wellington (No WPA for the Airport card under Jaguar). The Mac OS skills may come in handy in the new role.

So here's one for the iBook:

LIFE - Is it Sunday yet?

2006-10-10T14:37:00.000+13:00

Season 3 of BSG has started!!! :-) Screens on Fridays in the US, and torrents start floating around shortly after that. Life now consists of waiting till episodes are available on Sundays. *sigh*. It's good though...:-)

FUCK YOU!

2006-09-30T23:26:00.000+12:00

I was going to address this to the US Senate the the US Administration. But you know what? They were simply elected by the people they represent. Whether or not they are carrying out the wishes of those who elected them, I'm unsure, but if they are not, the voters have allowed this to happen. So this is for you America. FUCK YOU!

For those that don't know, don't care, don't pay attention, don't whatever, the US Sentate has voted in legislation eliminating habeas corpus for "enemy combatants", as defined by the US Administration, and condoning torture, flying in the face of the Geneva Convention. Lord knows, I'm probably an "enemy combatant" for this blog.

If I was living in the United States now (And this is one of many reasons I happily live in New Zealand now), I would be very close to picking up a gun. Maybe I could manage to wait till the elections in November, or even see what happens in 2008. The difference in many cases between a freedom fighter and a terrorist is the label given by those in power who are being attacked by said "terrorists". By your definition of the word, George Walker Bush, you corrupt, power hungry, moronic son of a bitch, George Washington was a terrorist.

GEEK - Additionally...

2006-09-07T14:41:00.000+12:00

Trying to mount an SMB or CIFS share on my Windows box so I can play MP3s in amaroK (Which rocks) instead of Totem Movie Player (Which is "okay").. amaroK doesn't like playing files from Nautilus via smb:/, and mount from a terminal or via SMB4K just barfs (And lots of people seem to have the same question, but not a lot of answers). Most common answer seems to be "Use NFS, not SBM". Nice...:-(

Think there was something else, but I can't remember what it is...[Edit] Oh! That's right! Getting Sound Juicer to rip to MP3 (With id3 tag) rather than OGG.

LIFE - What am I up to?

2006-09-05T15:47:00.000+12:00

I just wanted to take a second to record what I'm up to at the moment.

I have just finished reading:

The Communist Manifesto

...Before that I read:

The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East

....Currently reading:

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

...Waiting to be read:

Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil

The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

Bill Clinton: My Life

Geeky/techie stuff I'm working on (Why is "geeky" with a "Y" and "techie" is with "IE"? English is a stoopid language.):

* The Linux experiment continues, though I'm using Ubuntu 6.0.6.1 now.
* Getting wireless network with WPA to work under said Linux distro (Grrr!!!)
* Getting hardware 3D acceleration working with said Linux distro (Grrr!)
* Getting Active Directory authentication working with said Linux distro (Yeah right)
* Running Windows XP under VMWare in Ubuntu
* Getting reading to play with Mac OS 10.4 under VMWare in Ubuntu
* Testing MS ISA 2004 on my upgraded server
* Testing MS WSUS 3 Beta 2 on same server (Broken since ISA 2004 install)
* Trying to spend a little more time paying attention to stuff on the Interwebs. I've been away too long.

This is all of course of top of being a dad. Books are allocated time on the bus to and from work (I have no idea how that will work with my plans to cycle to work in future. I guess it won't). And the geeky/techie stuff fits in somwhere between the hours of 1800 and 0300...

LIFE - Cool...

2006-09-05T15:03:00.000+12:00

We've received a request through a Flickr user preparing a presentation for the New Zealand Historic Places Trust to use this photo:

20040925f Visiting Otara Market in Auckland

...in a presentation they are giving. Cool...:-)

GEEK - LOL!

2006-09-05T13:12:00.000+12:00

Oops.

Oh. And while I'm hear. This can't be real.