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Friday, 20 July 2007
Holidays! are nearly over =(
  Posted by mace at 9:50 PM   // 0 comments
Following on where I left off in this column...

Live Earth 07/07

What can I say, this was just an awesome show. A little tiring standing between acts, and getting squished by eager moshers, and also being kissed on the cheek by a random drunk, but otherwise yeah, pretty awesome. Sneaky Sound System got the party started =D
Eskimo Joe, John Butler Trio (awesome, awesome drum solo), Missy Higgins, Crowded House.. all FTW.

Attempted to make some recordings but it looks like the bass-beats overpowered the microphone on my mp3. Oh well. I'll go process those sound files later on.

So all I have are some videos from my phone, but otherwise youtube is the better source =)

Live Earth 2007


But omg I <3 Eskimo Joe now.


Brushy Point Trip

More awesomeness. =D Linkage ahoi.

Facebook Group
YouTube Videos! of the drunken night...

My photos (plus extras):
Brushy Point
Kirstie's Photos:
Brushy Point; July 07
Ray's Photos:
Brushy Point 2007


Awesome trip, props to Kai for organising it, and Johnny for finding the place (and bringing the rain =P) But still - thanks to everyone who came, wouldn't have made it what it was without you! So, shoutouts to everyone else: Albert, Davy, Leane, Gladys, Joo, Kirstie, Dot, Ray, Dilsh, Eric, Wan, Bob, Ying, Supun, and Colin!

So what did we do? Rather unexpected that nearly half the guys would do the majority of the planning, organising, cooking, and shopping... whilst the girls chatted and gamed! I mean we had our share of gaming too I guess. It's all a bit of a blur now, a lot is captured on camera but that'll come, in time. In short:

  • We arrived, checked out the place, and Colin became FPS Doug

  • It was a very, very nice place, split up into two buildings, Cottage and Loghouse (cabin attached)

  • Plenty of beds for the guys, a few TV's around the place, and even a PS2 there already =D We had plenty of entertainment!

  • Tennis Courts there, played much tennis and soccer

  • We made a fire for the last few nights... and spent the whole of the last thursday making fire :D

  • Cooked bread, chips, and garlic bread on the fire. That was pretty FTW. Totally the way to cook stuff, i.e. with a bonfire

  • Oh, yeah we made a bonfire too. Kinda scary when the flames were taller than us, and that was with us standing on higher ground =S

  • Watched the sunrise on the jetty, nice stuff there

  • The jetty was actually really calm and pieceful, nice time-out place

  • Ok so Colin, Davy and Bob practically knocked themselves out on Wednesday night... interesting time!

  • The meaning of love was really deep.

  • More deep convos whilst others were responsibly consuming alcohol.

  • Went shopping on Wednesday. Woke up at 6am to eventually make our way to Forster, and how good it was to see civilsation again! (and KFC!) So many shops there, Stockland, and.. sales! But good thing we're guy shoppers. Spent $320 at Woolies. Long long shopping docket.

  • Had icecream on the way back. Fun and crazy trip back.



That's about all I remember so far, no one else seems to have blogged yet to go jog our memory...


Since then?

Well I've gone straight back to work, and been sick since =\ How fun.

Parra'ed on tuesday, Watched Knocked Up - interesting movie to say the least. =D

Picked up the latest Interpol Album - Our Love to Admire - still need to listen through it a lot more, but I'm starting to like it more and more. At that I still like Antics more.

Picked up the latest Horus Heresy Book - Fulgrim. It's fat, at 500+ pages. Yet to read Flight of the Eisenstein first though.

So anyhow had lunch, sushi, and max brenner, cheers @ Kirstie, Jady, Ray, Belinda, Miu, Michael, Robin, Sarah for the day. Good to see others again =)


Today

Well I've just spent today at home, well enough to sit at the computer, just been eating and drinking to hopefully get better. Just been getting moneys (I want my tax back too!) and mud cake today =)

The next few days sees me working more, and then its back to uni. How fun.

Have fun and take care everyone!

- Andrew

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To quote Starcraft 2...
  Posted by mace at 9:39 PM   // 0 comments

"Hell, It's about time!"

So here I am, finally of age! How do I feel, well less sick than I was yesterday. I've managed to return to the normal.. spending the day near the computer rather than watching midday television.

But really, what's the big deal about being eighteen? Aside from being the youngest (or second youngest) wherever I go...

I figure it just boils down to the legal ramifications of being 18, you can 'legally' do 'stuff' now. There's also the added responsibility for oneself and apparent independence gained overnight. But otherwise, I'm just a day older!

What else does it mean... Guys - I can finally join you at the pub now. We can go to Boxxdin then head over to Bull & Bush for a post-gears-of-war round. Girls - well I've heard so much about clubbing but never actually been able to go (standing outside is no fun, especially during schoolies =\). But I'll get around to this eventually. Cityrail - no more claiming child tickets for me. Work - thanks for the payrise =D


Reflections of a sound

Well it's a little hard to believe that it's been a year already. In that time I've.. cruised through the HSC, not really pulling my wait but still getting what I wanted (not quite enough for commerce though.. should've aimed a bit higher =S), survived the first session of University with fairly good results (ok I aced Engineering and Computing, and passed Maths and Physics...); Had fun chillaxing at uni, had an awesome time with friends in the holidays (soo many parties! I look forward to more!), watched the New Years Celebration in the city for once, had a great time at Brushy's Point (see adjacent post!); and met a few new people (no regrets about that.. you know who you are ;) ) - a busy year its been! Eh, good times, too much to mention here really!

The year ahead

Well what to expect? 2 Sessions of University. Many, many birthday celebrations. Christmas and New Years. Lots of holidays for summer break. Lots of fun =D I guess now I have a bit more freedom in not having to wait outside pubs/clubs (or wait at net cafes rather) and such whilst everyone else goes and parties... and to go visit Star City =) Earning more money probably means spending more too.. here I come 40k!


But otherwise, I'm still the same geek I was yesterday, and shall most probably be tomorrow. I mean since I've been sick I've learnt how to solve a Rubix cube and now I can do it in just over 2 minutes! Still proud to be a nerd.


Just a quick shoutout to everyone who sent birthday messages yesterday and today - thanks heaps, very much appreciated =D I'm getting better now too, just a cough but otherwise nearly at full strength! I must say I don't feel so young anymore, then again I don't feel old. @ Ying and Hansen, my 19 y.o. friends, you're not thattt old! =) It's really just the presence of people like me =\

Anyhow, yeah, thanks all, have a nice day =D

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Sunday, 8 July 2007
=O
  Posted by mace at 10:41 PM   // 0 comments
I'm AFK for nearly a week.

Yes you read right, AFK.


Back on the 13th =)

much s2; - mace


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Thursday, 5 July 2007
The days gone by...
  Posted by mace at 11:59 PM   // 2 comments
It's happening again! Days like these blur into one...

Monday night - Pancakes on the rocks!


Well I arrived at the city early, scouted out some places, found HobbyCo and spotted some old-school XV15s.. so bought them =)

Now - We were in the city to go have dinner for Kati? - Those Present - Belinda, Jady, Kati, Josef, Eric, Ray and I. We ordered much food.

Just a few pics from the night...

My food/'entree' More tasty food! Eh... Josef. ..trying to be smart =P but outdone
With the exception of the first pic [mine], the rest of the pics are from Jady's Facebook album =) [ Shameless Plug: Get Facebook! ]
It was nice! We stayed there for 'a while' though - didn't end up going K after, just came straight home. Though I'm sure we were all fairly full anyway...


Tuesday - Parra bum


Arrived early (as always I guess) - bought a 2GB Micro-SD Card from Strathfield. And picked up some supplies for my brother - he's going on his first cadet camp on saturday! Brings back fun memories.. hah.

So anyway, the point of the day was to meet up for lunch and plan for next weeks trip - which most of us did =) I am perhaps a little concerned with our collective ability to turn up on time for next Monday morning though.. given that we said meet at 12, not 12ish for Tuesday... But anyhow, lunch was good, and Happy Birthday to Mitz!

Went down to the cinema afterwards, though only a few of us ended up going to watch a movie (Transformers - yes, I should've gone and watched it too). I decided against tagging along for shopping with the rest.. so went off by myself.

So where did mace go for three hours?, you ask your curious self..

Well i'm a Parra bum, and so I know my way around Parra. I also know where the basement is. =) So that's where I went. For a start I went to Billy Hyde to look around, then eventually to GW to visit some friends there. Ended up spending a lot of time there helping paint; Quite literally brushing up my skills. So now I have a squad reserved just for me for next time I go back to do some more...


Wednesday - City bum


I must say, I didn't find the day aimless ;)
Met up with Theresa for lunch in the city! Let's just say it was a relaxing day, which was what we needed, and we bought *nearly* everthing we needed to get, whilst walking whole city blocks.. From TGV to Pitt St Mall, Capitol, Market City, and Darling Harbour, and on a quest for Subway Cookies =D
Oh, did I mention? I got BEAT in pool! =O

Overall, I thought the day was good, just what we needed! Thanks for coming out with me =)
[ certainly got rid of that mood from the night before! ]
I need more cookies though.. maybe tomorrow!



And then I get home.. and apparently take over the internets with the help of a hungry cat.
/me takes over the internets! You Eated my Cookie?


Thursday/Today - Just another day...


In home sweet home

To save going out every single day of the week... I stayed home today. And really didn't do much of note. Just cleaning up and preparing to move.

So about the other house - the kitchen is nearly done! Saturday apparently! After that we can get someone in to polish the floorboards, and that could take a week perhaps.. then we can move in! At that however, we have a LOT of stuff here, as anyone who has been here would've seen.. so it's going to take a while.

No sight of a house party on the horizon unfortunately.. and if there is, it's going to be ridiculously last minute, which I'd wouldn't really go ahead with if that was the case. But I'll see what the case is when we get back from Brushy's Point next week!

In the 40k scene I've decided to go with repainting my Black Templars as Blood Angels, given the model kit-out and the just-released BA Codex in the last two WD magazines. More on that when I actually get somewhere.

Meanwhile its just the usual stuff, sitting online, browsing blogs/forums, and watching TV. The season finale of Heroes was not quite what I had expected, then again I've missed a few eps here and there =(

More in the thought-post-duality that exists beside this one.

- Andrew

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Twenty-Five.
  Posted by mace at 11:58 PM   // 2 comments
1. i've come to realise that i'm not the only one around here...

2. i am listening to Snow Patrol (Wow).

3. i talk predominently via msn.

4. i love anything, and anyone techy.

5. i hate restrictions on everything that I do.

6. i love the smell of food! What else! =D

7. marriage is like Mr & Mrs Smith.

8. fast food is like, never going to make me fat.

9. somewhere, someone is thinking that they should give mace a cookie.

10. i'll always be a sucker for ... you.

11. my secret crush - no wait, a second, stop here. I'm "free".

12. the last time i cried was when i ate too many wasabi peas for my own good.

13. my cell phone is slim and lanky like me.

14. when i wake up in the morning i try to sleep in.

15. before i go to bed - hah, me & sleep? Well ok, I spend a lot of time eating, and drinking, and bumming on the computer, before making numerous attempts to get offline. Then that takes about an hour or so...

16. right now i am thinking about not thinking about exam results.

17. babies are.. cute?

18. i get on with my fellow geeks.

19. today I found out I'm a counselor idealist

20. tonight i'll be alone and hungry.

21. my piercings won't exist.

22. tomorrow i'll still be alone, but no longer hungry =)

23. i really look forward to Live Earth this Saturday!

24. the person most likely to repost this has already posted it?

25. i regret a lot of things. But none of those include meeting the friends I have ;)



I must say, I have always had an interest in psychology, and philosophy. Perhaps not as much as Sci-fi, but nonetheless. I was doing my rounds on Tau Online today and came across a thread by Hansen. I went and did the typology test, and really wasn't surprised by the results; What surprised me was the uncanny accuracy of said results. Of particular interest was the last paragraph:
The Counselor Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in reaching their goals, and enterprising and attentive in their interpersonal roles. Counselors focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values, and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (little more than 2 percent) is regrettable, since Counselors have an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their companions. Although Counsleors tend to be private, sensitive people, and are not generally visible leaders, they nevertheless work quite intensely with those close to them, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes with their families, friends, and colleagues. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

Counselors can be hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. With their loved ones, certainly, Counselors are not reluctant to express their feelings, their face lighting up with the positive emotions, but darkening like a thunderhead with the negative. Indeed, because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them, which, perhaps, is one reason why they tend to be private people, mutely withdrawing from human contact. At the same time, friends who have known a Counselor for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that they are inconsistent; Counselors value their integrity a great deal, but they have intricately woven, mysterious personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

Counselors have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another's emotions or intentions -- good or evil -- even before that person is conscious of them. This "mind-reading" can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend. Even Counselors can seldom tell how they came to penetrate others' feelings so keenly. Furthermore, the Counselor is most likely of all the types to demonstrate an ability to understand psychic phenomena and to have visions of human events, past, present, or future. What is known as ESP may well be exceptional intuitive ability-in both its forms, projection and introjection. Such supernormal intuition is found frequently in the Counselor, and can extend to people, things, and often events, taking the form of visions, episodes of foreknowledge, premonitions, auditory and visual images of things to come, as well as uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance.

Now if you haven't deduced already - I do actually get random psychic stuff happen. Mainly precognitive visions. I mean it's happened twice in the past week already =S

I'll spare the details of said occurances, but I was interested into what typology others have received from this test.

Directed at other Counselor Idealists, does anyone else get psychic precognitions? or is it just me?

And at others - eh.. please explain? =\

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Sunday, 1 July 2007
Moonlit night...
  Posted by mace at 3:41 PM   // 6 comments
I thought I'd keep this post to one column, just so it's less confusing for those who were overcome by the leetness of the last three posts =P

I guess I can say I've settled in to the holidays now, no more urges to do something constructive everyday - I'm happily content with just relaxing, msn'ing and gaming now =) But the food cravings are ensuring I get my weekly dose of the outside world [ you know who you are ;) ].


House Update

For those who didn't know already, a while back we purchased a new house, merely 100m down the road, that is many, many times bigger than this unit (for those who have been here). We've been cleaning it up and doing renovations and such, and it should be done soon!

There have however been many delays, kitchen sink problems, annoying salespeople, things going wrong (Re: Murphy's Law - "If anything can go wrong, it will") - but for the most part, looking forward to moving in, in a few weeks time. As for the house party I had in mind, no sign of a pool table on the horizon, at least not until we sell our other two houses =\

So on Friday, we went to pick up a new kitchen sink, made our way to Beverly Hills.. and on our way back.. I saw a peacock crossing the road! Totally random, just on one of the streets off the main road on our way back from Hurstville! So if you know anyone who owns a pet peacock that has gone missing...


I gave in! - Sansa e250 Review/Comparison


For me to think that iPod was the mp3 player of choice on the market was a little misguided. True, that 70% of the people I know (who own mp3 Players) seem to have one, but that's not to say there aren't alternatives. So I found this little baby, Sandisk Sansa e250, jam-packed with (useful!) features that the equivalent Nano's seem to lack. That and it's priced competitively, coming in much cheaper than a 2GB Nano (I got it for $168; an iPod Nano would cost $199).

As I've been looking for an upgrade of my current mp3 for a while, I finally gave in yesterday and bought it at work, and I must say, so far so good!

Sansa Box FOB? Sansa e250 Video Playback Music Screen Side Profile Back Case Too full... 1/337 Songs.
It came with a lanyard, headphones, usb cable, and a neat black felt-like case. The Sansa e250 (2GB version) feels so much more.. durable than an iPod, it's not like a wafer as such.

The specs off the top of my head,
Sansa e250
  • 2GB Memory
  • MicroSD Expansion Slot
  • MP3/WMA playback
  • 1.8" TFT Colour Screen
  • Photo Playback
  • Video Support
  • Digital FM Radio
  • Voice/FM Recording with Built-in Microphone
  • Preset/Custom EQ
  • User-replacable battery, should last 20 hours on one charge

I guess the two things that sold it for me was the MicroSD Slot (expansion is soo easy, you can get a 2GB MicroSD from Strathfield for like, $39) and that it's considerably cheaper than the equivalent iPod Nano. Add to that you don't have to go through any special software, you can connect it just as a USB Drive or manage it through WMP10 rather than iTunes (iTunes keeps doubling up on my music as it converts everything to AAC, especially WMAs...) AND the leet blue glow (ok and it can be submitted to uber-hackery as per online forums). And anyway, everyone has iPods these days, but those who know me know I don't care about mainstream.

So anyhow, I filled it up with music, I shall need some MicroSD cards to put on the rest of the music I want =\ I filled it up a bit too much yesterday so deleted one of the preloaded videos off it to make space for the music database. The earphones look rather thin, not too solid... I don't know if they'll last with my type of usage. Otherwise, no issues here, I'm happy =)

Vs. My old mp3 player


My old mp3 player was a cheap $40 SD Card Player from Jaycar (they now sell a newer version for $30) - that doesn't have internal memory but uses standard SD cards - again you can get these for really cheap these days.

MP3 Size Comparison old mp3

The Sansa is considerably more expensive, but then that's what I pay for something that isn't a random chinese brand that I've never heard of. Sansa knocks this one out straight off. The monochrome LCD, eating-of-4-AAA-batteries on a weekly basis, and glitches with another SD card I had means this one doesn't compare really. But it did it's job well of playing mp3/wma's.

Vs. iPod Nano


In the end... the Sansa wins out for me.
  • Sansa has a bigger screen.
  • Sansa can play Videos and has built-in Radio
  • MicroSD Slot for easy memory expansion
  • Built-in Microphone for voice/FM recording
  • You can change the battery yourself with the Sansa, not go through Apple's ridiculous process of servicing your iPod to get it fixed...
  • The sansa doesn't feel like a wafer.
  • The iPod however, has a much better scroll mechanism. It's mechanical on the Sansa, which gets a little tiring. But hey, it means it can have the blue glow. Neat.
  • (@ Asians)Sansa is cheaper! =P
  • iPod has games. Does anyone play these? I mean soliatare is neat and all, but it's a mp3 player!



More of a fan-rant than a proper review from me... see the pro ones which have more pretty pics =)
- SanDisk Sansa e250 - JusTech'n.com
- Anything But Ipod - Sansa e200 Series Review


Life.. from mace's workbench


Somedays I wonder what I'm going to do with my life... for a start I want to learn 3 languages now. I have 3 "Let's Learn..." disks here now: Japanese, German, and Chinese. Someday I'll work my way through them and be able to say more than "Nein, Das ist mein hamburger!" and "What's the time?" in Japanese...

On my desk...
3 Phones? CD Stack CD Stack

The first photo: I have 3 phones on my desk. The right two are mine, the left one belongs to a very lucky friend, who's phone we found on the bus just after our physics exam! Nokia 6280 is a pretty awesome phone btw, so don't diss it. =)

The other two photos - These are all the cd's I've purchased during Session 1. I really don't recall how much I've actually spent on cds :s But judging by that stack I'd estimate somewhere around $200. Ever so slowly I'll work out where all my money has gone..

Anyway, still more shopping in the week ahead.. there goes my bank balance =(

I'll see some people around, as for everyone else, have fun!

- mace

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