Archive for the 'Ego' Category

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Time Consumer

Published on July 4, 2006 in Ego and Random Stuff. 3 Comments

Hey how you all doin? It’s been a while hasn’t it? I hope you’re all doing just great!

Well I’ve been pretty damn flat out over the last few weeks. This is mainly due to work and moving house which Hels and I have settled in pretty well. The only thing missing is a name. In case you don’t know I’ve pretty much always had a name for the places I’ve lived in. So far I’ve lived in the following…

- Tarmaroo

- The Humpie

- The Castle

- The Lodge

So please any suggestions for the new place leave a comment.

fin

Published on March 31, 2006 in Ego. 4 Comments

I’ve handed back the keys to the office, packed my shit and left the building.

Today was my last day at my current job before I start my new one on Monday.

We went out for drinks last night in Kew which was really good. Great to catch up with people and sink beers. Top night was had by all, even the commie had fun!

So I start my new position of Project Manager Monday and I’m really hangin out for it yet at the same time quietly shitting one’s pants.

It’s going to be a massive task and culture change from where I have been however with this opportunity it can only lead to even bigger and better things. That’s not saying that things aren’t great now, hell this new job is a zillion times better and I haven’t even started it yet! The people seem great, the work challenging, and the pay is a pleasent surprise.

All I gotta do is not fuck it up!

Bring on Monday!

To Be A Whipping Boy

Published on March 16, 2006 in Ego, Events and Rants. 1 Comment

I watched the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games last night and I still can’t decide if it was any good or not.

I think at one stage I saw a koala cross human thing running around in a dirty pair of y-fronts.

The giant flying tram was pretty cool but from there it got a little weird.

It needed to be a little more ‘Melbourne’ I thought and what better way than borrowing from the AFL Grand Final performances! Do you remember the rather feminine looking guys in footy gear dancing provocatively with each other? Oh oh and what about Angry Anderson and the Batmobile! That would’ve put bums on seats!

Also there was no reference to stabbings which seem to be a very Melbourne thing to do these days.

Either way let me know what you thought and what you would have added to make it that little bit better.

On a side note, I’ve got a second interview for the job I went for last week so keep those fingers crossed for me will ya?!

Only a few more sleeps until Coheed and Cambria, XBOX 360 and my mega fatman lazy weekend!

Don’t Look Now, but I Think I’m Sweating Blood

Published on March 10, 2006 in Ego, Random Stuff and Rants. 1 Comment

Thought I better dust the cobwebs of ‘the pennies’ as it was getting a little mouldy round here.

Previously in my life…

- Been working like a bitch putting in close to 12 hour days most days and working on weekends.

- Making some decent money but not too sure where it is all going…

- Paid off the XBOX 360 with an extra game and shit, hang on I think I just answered the point above!

- Went and saw Away From Now and Irrelevant at The Evelyn Friday night. Was as expected a kickass show even though I did defy modern science by falling asleep standing up which I will blame on too much work and too much beer as the cause.

- Had a kebab from Mr Funny Kebab after about a year of not being able to find him. It’s good to have him back in my life and I’m sure there will be plenty of 2am visits to be had.

- Just took a break from writing this (I’m at work) and noticed a single corn kernel in the toilet… wondering how it got there.

- Had a job interview yesterday and it went pretty well. I really want to get this job so cross some fingers and if all goes well a decision will be made next week.

- Celebrated four years with the bestest girl in the world.

- The Amazing Race has started again, go the Geek team!

Coming soon…

- Gyroscope tonight at The Northcote Social Club, will be a great show no matter what. Have never been let down by these guys and I doubt that will happen tonight.

- XBOX 360 launch, I’ve got two days off work which gives me a four day weekend. Feel free to pop in and say G’day but please bring food as I will not be leaving my bean bag and will no doubt be hungry. You might have to feed though as both hands will be attached to that sweet white wireless controller.

- Coheed and Cambria. Nuff said really, if you don’t know who they are find out. You will not regret it. This will be the gig of the year hands down. No need to argue because if you do you will taken away to the loony bin for being mental.

- Hopefully a new job, you still got those fingers crossed?!

- The month of May where there are more birthday’s than days! How about we arrange for one heck of a shindig and dust off the goon bag? Sounds good doesn’t it?!

- Footy footy footy footy! The AFL season starts soon thank god. Gives me more reason to drink beer.

- Prison Break starts again on the 20th of March (I think)

I think that’s about it for now but what’s on the horizon for you guys?

Paranoid Android

Published on February 9, 2006 in Ego and Geek it up!. 3 Comments

So with all the work I’ve been doing (I’ll give you an update to my ever so boring life in another post) I’ve had to purchase a new notebook. I decided on a HP something or other, with a 14 inch widescreen so it’s nice and portable (I never understood why someone would want a massive laptop), seems to have decent battery life, WiFi, Bluetooth (I can finally sync my BlackBerry with no USB cable!), and of course Windows XP Pro which is also my very first legal copy!

So I’ve been spending a little bit of time installing the usual software like Office 2003, iTunes and getting used to using XP again.

On my iMac over time I’d come across some sweet software that pretty much enhances what I already do.

 - Allow me to control iTunes and see what’s playing without having iTunes open.

 - Have my MSN Messenger contacts nicely displayed on my desktop with nothing but the contact list.

 - Monitor network and CPU usage from my task bar.

 - See how much of my data quota I’ve used in the month from the task bar.

 - The list really does go on and on and on.

So off I went into the www to find like applications for XP with my first stop being versiontracker.com

The same way I found a lot of my Mac apps I went to the ‘Most Popular Downloads’ to see what everyone enjoyed using…

From what I can see people just love spyware! Fuck me the amount of spyware apps that are in the most downloaded list blew me away!

I’m not wanting or going to start a flame war over XP and OSX but I’m getting the impression that the ‘fun’ has gone from using XP.

Too much time is spent defending and protecting your investment than enjoying it!

Either way I’d rather have a PowerBook MacBook Pro and if things go well I might. But until then I’m putting on my Becks armour and going into battle! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y-!

The Best of 2005

Published on January 9, 2006 in Albums, Been There Done That, Ego, Events, Gigs, Music, Rants and Reviews. 7 Comments

So the new year is already here and I hope you all had a great 2005.
I’m a little slack at the moment (I’m on holidays, deal with it!) so I didn’t get round to posting my ‘Best of 2005′ in 2005 so here it is bitches…!

Best Gig of 2005
‘Gyroscope at Rubys in Belgrave’

What started out as a quiet Thursday(?) night, Dan the Man, Stu, Doug, Pete and myself cruised down to Belgrave to check out Gyroscope, The Hot Lies and Behind Crimson Eyes.
Besides more than your average amount of beer being drunk, Gyroscope rocking so bloody hard, a mosh pit consisting of 5, we all ended up ‘behind the magic bookcase’ hangin with the bands.
I’ve been told that my interview method and questions were second to none.

Honorable Mention
Mad Caddies followed by Supper Club, Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger

Best Album of 2005
Gyroscope ‘Are You Involved?’

The second full length release from Gyroscope was a killer and easily earned the title of best album.
Hell I’m still giving Sound Shattering Sound a thrashing so I’ll still be listening to Are You Involved way into 2006.

Honorable Mention
Wolfmother ‘Self Titled’ and Coheed and Cambria ‘Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness (This could probably be the longest album title of 2005 if not all time!)

Beer of 2005
Chimay

It’s expensive as hell and brewed by Monks.
Nuff said.

Honorable Mention
Carlsberg and Sol (a very very late inclusion to the best of)

TV Show of 2005
Arrested Development

Even though Arrested Development is already into it’s third season, no show seems to be quoted and watched repeatedly by myself and the rest of the hornbag.net crew.
I’ve said it a million times before but this is one of the best comedies of all time. It’s well written, has an awesome cast and the call backs and plot twists are second to none.

Honorable Mention
Top Gear, Lost, My Name Is Earl and Prison Break

So that’ll do for now… have a great 2006

Amplitude Modulation and The Soundtrack of My Life

Published on December 13, 2005 in Ego and Music. 2 Comments

I really hate being surrounded by people, especially dumbass people who I don’t know and frankly never want to know.
This creates a rather awkward and frustrating situation every time I go shopping, however during Christmas rush this gets amplified to eleven!

To help combat this I go equipped with my iPod Nano and a killer playlist.
Nothing beats not being able to hear the crying of small children, the mindless chatter of 16 year old girls, or the never ending abuse from chumps trying to sell me a credit card, a multipurpose broom or a child in Africa.
There’s no real style to my playlist just bits of this and bits of that.
Normally add a fair bit of new stuff (new to me anyway) as this gives me a good time to listen and get into it if it’s any good.

Wolfmother have recently been promoted to the Nano and I highly recommend you give them a listen. This could probably be one of my top albums for 2005. It may sound very familiar to some people and fair enough too because these guys sound like some kind of Led Zeppelin hybrid.
Stand out tracks include Woman, Minds Eye and Joker and the Thief.

Also getting a spin at the moment are The Polyphonic Spree (I swear these guys are a cult, their music makes me wanna drink the koolaid), The Academy Is… (it’s got hook. nuff said), all 5 of The OC Mixes (these are really really good compilation mixes, pretty chilled and some awesome covers versions to be had) and of course Gyroscope (when will the awesomeness end?!)

Also crammed onto the Nano are my favorite podcasts. Podcasts have taken off like a frog in a sock over the last year or so and the quality and diversity of podcasts available is starting to kick some serious ass.
If you haven’t already started listening to podcasts I suggest you give it a shot. Especially if you have to travel on public transport etc…
A couple of choice cuts from my personal collection include -

(Cool) Shite on the Tube - Clickity
- Made in Tasmania, consisting of reviews on current movies, DVD, TV, anime, Asian cinema and anything in between. A very good (if not lengthy) podcast in true Aussie spirit with plenty of swearing and humor.

Diggnation – Clickity
- A weekly podcast covering some of the top dugg stories at digg.com. Very entertaining and funny. Heck you might even learn something… also available in a video podcast.

My Name Is Mark - Clickity
- ‘defeat, crushed dreams, and high karate. The life and times of Mark Hoppus… …he’s the dude from blink-182

This Week In Tech - Clickity
- Leo Laporte is the Godfather of tech. This podcast wraps up the weekly tech news with opinion and discussion. A must for any geek period.

The Ricky Gervais Show – Clickity
- Ricky Gervais… do I need to say more?

I don’t listen to them anymore but the Triple J podcasts with Dr Karl, Jay and the Doctor etc were pretty good.

Probably due to my taste for the spoken word, when I don’t have the Nano I’ve been listening to AM radio.
ABC 774 is the shit and always will be… I think I am sick of listening to Green Day and Nickleback on Triple M, and don’t get me started on Nova or any of that other shit!
Talk back, news, information, talking is what I need. And AM radio delivers! Woo Hoo!

God bless iPod, AM radio, podcasts and music in general.
This is the Soundtrack to my boring little life.

Hotdogs and Hallways

Published on November 12, 2005 in Ego and Geek it up!. 3 Comments

Hey how you all doin?
Thought I’d do a post in two of my favorite categories, ‘Ego’ and ‘Geek it up!’ who’d of thunk it?

Well I’ve traded in Stud-2 (Stud-2 was my fully sic VL Commodore. Why the name Stud-2? Stud-1 was taken by yours truly!) for a brand new Sky Blue Hyundai Getz. What was a sad decision and time has definitely been paid off as the Getz (Know as Stan [google ’stan getz’] kicks some ass!
Yes it’s a small car, has four cylinders, and three doors but I love it. Parking has never been simpler, fuel economy rules at 7.1 liters per 100kms and the little fella is pretty zippy for what it is.
All in all I’m wrapped as it does what I want and costs fuck all. It’s win win in my books.
If I get round to it I might post a picky for ya…

So I paid a visit to Stylyn in Boronia this morning to check out some car stereo set-ups as JB is pretty shit in selection and function when it comes to this stuff…
What I wanted was the ability to plug in the spare iPod I have and control it through the head unit (no more fm transmitters or aux cables) and enough sound to fill out the Getz which shouldn’t be too difficult!

After a little looking around and playing this is the set up I’m looking at -
- Alpine CDA-9851 Head Unit
- Alpine KCA-420i iPod interface unit
- Focal 165VI 6.5″ x2 Splits for the front
- Focal 130CA 5″ x2 for the rear
Grand total including installation is $1390.00 but I haven’t negotiated price yet.

It’s a bit pricey but this shit always is, I could get an FM transmitter or Aux cable for the iPod and slash the price by at least $200.00 and get some cheaper speakers or head unit to save more cash but fuck it. I spend way too much time in my car to have a system that is ‘alright’ but not what I want.

Either way I think it should be a pretty sharp set up and if all goes well I’ll have it all done by Christmas.
The other thing I need to do is get the windows tinted with is another $250.00.

Either way it’s all good.

edit : forgot to mention the $11,000.00 22″ phat chrome rims I’ve put on layby for this bitch. man they’ll be spinnin and spinnin into next year! booyah!

you want it when…?!

Published on October 19, 2005 in Ego and Rants. 0 Comments

quick post while i’m on lunch at work as i noticed things were a little quiet on ‘the bag’.
not too much to report except that i think i will start looking for other job opportunites as i’m over this place (3rd or 4th time now i think…) and sick of having my balls busted and then just when they heal up someone goes and busts them again! i would love to do internal work (no customer interaction) in the city (friday night drinks anyone?) however the pays good here so i’m in no real hurry and will stick it out for christmas so i don’t have to worry about annual leave and stuff.
bring on the new year bitches!

hope you’re all having a great week and i’ll do a more interesting post in the next day or so as some pretty cool and fun shit has been happening

be my frankenstein

Published on September 29, 2005 in Ego and Geek it up!. 5 Comments

well before i start this post HUGE shout out to the guys at warcom.com.au who promptly hook me up with all my wireless shit. check em out, they’re cheap as and delivery within 24 hours.

anyway ‘the lodge’ is now 100% wireless! wah hoo mother fuckers!
i still need to to a little tweaking to improve some of the speeds and reception but that’s just a little fine tuning nothing major.
so now i am able to do the following…
– stream phat tunes to the stereo via iTunes
– watch all of my tv shows and shit wirelessly on the XBox via XBMC
– surf, share and do whatever the fuck i want from any computer wirelessly!
– all be afraid of filezilla the gatekeeper of files