Bend in the Weather

We all enjoy a good holiday. Getting the time to take one always seems to be the problem for me however. I think I may have just found the answer...

If you're like me you grew up watching The Wonderful World of Disney at 6:30pm every Sunday. Here we marveled at cartoons of Mickey, Goofy and other great Disney characters. (So much so, many the hostnames on my home network are now named after Disney characters! ).

It also introduced us to classic 'childrens' movies like Herbie, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland.

It's probably the dream of every child to visit the magical place of Disneyland or DisneyWorld.

With the help of Google you can now explore DisneyLand without leaving your chair!
Google has produced a 3D interactive representation of Disneyland inside Google Earth.

If you've got Google Earth installed try the following:

1. Once Google Earth loads, search for "Disney World".
2. Click on the golden Disney Mickey Ears - This will load an information window.
3. In the info window click on Show Disney World in 3D.

The 3D world contains over 1,500 3D models and will let you explore right through the park. The models are highly detailed and a sight to behold!

It's nearly as good as being there!
Just think - no more queues for rides, no long-haul flight getting there, and the park is now open 24 hours for you.

Have fun exploring!

MrPointy, This blog post is just for you! 


Your wicked Java way,
Ensures dodgy apps are hear to stay.
We all know Java sucks,
Yet you insist we try our luck.

Process freezes and applications hung,
Dont worry, Java has just begun!
We know you're a Java nut,
But don't think we'll fall in the same rut.

Write once, run anywhere,
Sucky applications we just can't bare.
Eclipse and NetBeans; your preferred IDE,
Give me a simple text editor; and forget IcedTea!

Java certainly has it's place,
Use it in Windows with it's poison lace.
System programming requires C,
Leave Java out of it, let us be!

Show me one decent Java app,
That memory it doesn't sap.
Just one app that will not crash,
That doesn't make my system thrash.

Python, C, and Perl is what to use,
It's bound to avoid the blues,
Use them next time you need a script,
Not that silly Java dialect!

There is no more to state,
Java just isn't that great!
Avoid coding in Java at all cost,
So your reputation is not lost!

Many claim Java is here to stay,
Though we know it's had it's day.
It's time to leave the plight,
And come to see the light!


NB: For those confused, I work with MrPointy who is an avid Java fan and coder.  We all take pleasure in poking him in relation to his one-eyed views on Java.
       If you are wondering on his choice of alias, read up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and her favourite wooden stake.

We all love taking the piss outta Telstra.

Though they do make the job easy on us...

These two YouTube videos sum it up well.


Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/v/Py6kF7761Eg


Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/v/Vfz7yTqF6aE

It's been a while since my last blog entry.

There has been a few reasons.

1. Haven't been on my computer much.
2. Had the flu for three weeks.
3. Purchased a 42" Plasma TV and setup a HTPC to keep all our movies/music/photos on!
4. Had a few weeks of on-call support for work.

Rest assurred -- I'm still alive! 

I'll be posting more this week, including:

• An update on Duke (our new dog!) -- with more photos (coming -- I promise!)
  
• Details of our HTPC
• Details of the new computer I've just bought -- with hardware virtualization -- allowing me to run Windows and Linux at the same time with no performance loss! 
• A post on the new version of SuSE Linux 10.1 -- that will be the main driving OS of the new workstation (and powering Xen).
• A posting on the new 2.0 Beta of Firefox....   that now includes a spell checker and anti-phising tools!
  

If there is anything else you would like me to write about ... let me know! 

I find life with the Internet is as common as getting up in the morning.
I often find that routine tasks I used to use a manual system I rely more and more on online equivalents.

Here is a quick run down of some of the quick resources I use regularly.

• Dictionary - Easy to use when you're looking for a dictionary for a quick lookup of a word.
• Thesaurus - Great when you're finding 'that' word.
• Urban Dictionary - For common 'slang' and non-formal English, handy for forums and the like.
• Flickr - Find a particular photo you are after.
• Wikipedia - Great online encyclopedia.
• Computing Dictionary - Excellent way to find the definition for those computing acronyms!
• Movie Database - IMDb contains everything you ever need to know about a movie or television show.
  

Best of all, a lot of these are available as Firefox search plugins.  This means you can drop down the list where the Google search sits in the top corner and select your desired website and type in your search option.  Very funky!

There is a bunch of other sites that regularly make it to my bookmarks and it includes:

• Bureau of Meteorology
• Australian PostCode search
• White Pages and Yellow Pages
• WhereIs
• TV Guide
• Travel Time on the roads
• OnlineConversion - covert any measurement!

These are just a few of the sites I use on a regular basis.   My local web database has thousands of sites -- ensuring everything is only a click or two away. 

So what sites do you rely on to quench your thirst for knowledge?

Jason, one of the guys I worked with at Telstra wished to sell his notebook.

Pauline and I have been in the hunt for a good notebook for some time... after our old one had the screen die on us. That notebook was going to cost us more to repair than buy a new one!

So we jumped at the opportunity! It's only approx. 6-9 months old and at $700 with all the goodies included it was a bargain! So it's gone to a good home!

The computer is a Compaq Presario V2157AP Basically it's a widescreen, 1.4Ghz Mobile Celeron, with a 40GB HDD and 256MB of memory. Comes with a 802.11b/g wireless connection, 10/100 ethernet port, a built in modem, firewire, USB2, Dual-Layer DVD ReWriter and a 6-in-1 digital card reader! More than what we need.

Basically we'll use it for photo storage and able to watch xvid movies whilst on holidays!

Here are some pictures of it in action. Click to see larger versions.

Melbourne is currently hosting the 2005 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Artistic Gymnastics is the form of gymnastics where competitors compete on various pieces of apparatus and are judged by a score of 10.0.

You will see competitors on the Vault, Pommel Horse, Uneven and Parallel Bars, Rings and Balance Beam.

The event runs from 22/11 - 27/11. Channel Seven are telecasting the event from tonight until Sunday night at 8:30pm. (though Sunday starts an hour earlier).

Those in Melbourne can also benefit by viewing the competition live by purchasing tickets at Ticketek. Ticket prices are quite modest and is a good lead-up for many prior to the 2006 Commonwealth Games that are being held also in Melbourne.
The event is being held at Rod Laver Arena (used most often for the Australian Tennis Open), so viewing should be quite good from all angles.

Australian's are sports made, and Melbourne, Victoria is the capital for sporting events. (They also hold the Australian Grand Prix, Australian MotoGP, Australian Golf Open, The Melbourne Cup and the AFL Grand Final, also hosts the MCG and Telstra Dome stadiums).

Melbourne is the perfect city for me. I'm a mad sports nut and it's fantastic to get out to some of these events.

If you can't get to the event, make sure you check in and watch some of the Gymnastics. These dedicated athletes are bound to leave you speechless as the pull off performances and feats you didn't think was humanly possible!

I marvel at the endurance and strength as well as agility that these athletes bring. It's also important to remember that most of the female competitors are quite young with several only teenage girls.
The stress and nerves competing at the highest level at such a precise sport is also astounding.

Good luck to all athletes and hope it's a successful event for each competitor!

Last night I went to see Doom: The Movie.
If you've ever played any of the iD Software games (Doom or Quake), you'll enjoy the movie. It's basically a fantasy shoot-em-up.
Don't expect a big story line, as you'll be disappointed, but if you don't mind two hours of chilling out and enjoying mind-numbing shooting and gore then you'll love this movie!
I headed down to the cinema with both Pauline and A.C. (a Doom/Quake die-hard!) to ensure a few hours of gore! The cinema was reasonably empty; besides the occasional typical nerd with glasses as thick as coke-bottles and afro hair that wouldn't look out of place on an African American. (In this case it was probably a case they hadn't had a haircut or used a brush for some time!


The movie is set on Mars in at a space station research facility for the UAC where something has gone terribly wrong.
The hardened marines part of the Rapid Response Tactical Squad are sent in to isolate and remove that threat - at all costs!
With enough fire-power for a small army, and enough baddies to keep you occupied you know there is going to be lots of gunfire!






Don't see the movie if you want a story-line. You won't find it in this movie!
If you are looking for a movie to keep you jumping and your heart-beat up and don't mind some blood and gore, then you'll enjoy it.

It's rated 'M'... so probably not one for the kiddies. However there are much worse films they could see.

If you're a gamer, it's worth seeing. If you don't know what Quake or DooM is all about, you can probably miss this one.

Rating: 7/10

Pauline and I decided to watch a movie... to take our mind of waiting for results....

We chose Napoleon Dynamite....

Some movies are just made to be stupid. Napoleon Dynamite is one of those movies.

People under 30 will probably find it funny... those over 30 will shake their heads and wonder how they can recover those last 2 hours.

Napoleon Dynamite is a movie set in the mid-west of USA... in one of those non-descript country locations. Population, probably 1,500-5,000.
All the characters are likely to be high school drop outs and will not amount to much... and the charm is in what little their characters do.. and the sterotype 'loser' they play.



All the characters are boring... and you wouldn't of blamed the characters from committing suicide.. it's that depressing a movie.

It's been made to be a cult movie, but unless you're a big fan of Jim Jarmusch style movies... you'll probably not like it.

It's so stupid at times... it's funny. Though it wears off after the first 30 minutes. I found I only kept watching it, like those caught watching a train wreckage.

Rating: 4/10