Finally.

Got paid by Dataflex.  It only took 2 months and some legal threats.  Now I just have to pay off the last half of my university fees and I'm clear.

Sup.

It's just been one of those weeks where nothing has really happened.  I mean, I don't mind that kind of thing, but it's hard to talk to you when nothing is going on.  It's like Seinfeld, but with less Kramer.  Or post-Seinfeld Kramer with less racism.

I'm trying to schedule a couple of holidays in February so that the flights connect and I don't end up spending too much money.  That's about it.

So how was your day?

Season 4 Breaking Bad Finale

Holy. Shit.

I'm sorry Mad Men, but you just got bumped from best TV show ever.

Two more years!

The Simpsons will run until season 25, at least.  At least it's a nice round number.  Unfortunately, that means the bad will far outnumber the good episodes, making that rumoured Fox animation cable channel a bit of a bore.  Anyway, one shouldn't dwell on the bad.

Oh happy day!

The Simpsons will finally end!  It should have ended about 10 years ago when the show was more or less riding high, but I guess any time is a good time.  It'll end either this season, or I'll get a truncated 24th season with a proper finale.  I imagine they'll still make another movie, which would be fine.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/fox-executive-says-any-new-simpsons-season-would-l,62930/

Music-related post.

I completely forgot that there's a new Mastodon album out.  I think they are probably the best metal band of the last decade.  This isn't from the new album, but it is an iTunes bonus, so I guess that's close enough.

Just so you know...

Way back in the long, long ago when I was a kid, I used to watch a lot of 80s cartoons.  The usual shit like Transformers, MASK, Dino Riders, GI Joe, etc.  I occasionally caught He-Man on TV, but I never really watched because I thought it was shit

However, there was one He-Man episode that affected me in a way I'd never experienced before, nor have ever felt since.  Watching this episode and grasping its lesson at a tender young age was like a diamond bullet shattering my brain and crystallising my entire being.  I have spent years trying to find this episode on the internet, and only recently have I discovered it again.  I feel that I should share this with all of you so you can understand how I felt all those years ago and how I feel now after watching it after so long.

How dumb can Family Guy get?

I found the new episode funny.  It was mostly really good, and yeah it was random for the sake of randomness, but that's modern Family Guy and I enjoyed it.

I will say this though...

I get it, it's a pop culture reference and it fills the musical number quotient that Seth McFarlane arbitrarily requires for most episodes.  And it was funny.  But a couple of things...

How many people are actually going to get it?  How out of date is trolololo?  How bored would one have been in the Soviet Union?

I mean seriously.

Yay Mondays.

You know, for all the bitching about how Family Guy has been shit for the past forever, a large amount of said bitching is justified, I still look forward to it.  I admit the show has not been as good as it was 4 years ago.  Nor has it ever rose to the heights of good seasons of The Simpsons.

I didn't even know it came back this Sunday until it popped up in my... ahem... 'TV guide'.  To see it back on TV is weirdly comforting.

It's dumb, but yay.

Hey guys.

I hadn't updated for a while because of uni work.  I forgot about an assignment in a bridging course that I hadn't completed way back.  Anyway, just had to knock that off.  It was pretty basic MS Word/Excel/Access stuff, though I hadn't used Access until this thing, that was a bit of an ordeal.

But anyway, it's done.  Time to party and all that.

Music-related appendix

This song is awesome and the video clip is completely not gay.

Nostalgia

Playing Starfox 64 has got me back into playing my 3DS again.  I bought it at launch, which was kind of a mistake, though I wouldn't have got those free NES and SNES games other wise.  I hadn't touched it for ages, pretty much since Zelda.  I've never really gotten into Zelda, but OoT is supposed to be a classic, so you know.

So I've started playing Resident Evil Mercenaries again, and it's much more fun than I remember.   I think I'm a sucker for short, arcade like games now.  I seems to lose interest in anything that requires me to put in more than 2 hours without feeling like I've accomplished something.

Anyway, RE Mercenaries is great, but don't get it for RRP - half of that is preferable.

It's slow news week.

Nothing much happened.

Been playing Starfox 64 3D and nostalgiaing out.  It's exactly the same as the N64 game but prettier and pocket size.

There was one thing of note.  I found out that I won't get paid for that government job I did 3 weeks ago until the end of next week because of said government agency being slow.  Fun times.

As an aside...

The Safety Dance has made me think a bit.  What's your favourite 'bad' song from the 80s?  'Bad' is probably the wrong word, but I think you understand.  Basically, you listen to it and you go, 'fuck that's 80s', and you like it, but you're cringing slightly at the same time.

I like hair metal and I thing it is semi-timeless, so I can't really find it bad - the fashion aside.  New wave is pretty much 'it' as far as 80s sound goes.

Icehouse were this Australian new wave group that were completely there for the 80s and nowhere for the 90s.  This song is not bad in isolation, but there is a very noticeable layer of 80s cheese running through it.  Even the song title - Electric Blue, that's the 80s-est colour ever invented.  It's the synths, it's the saxophone, it's the electronic drum kit, it's Oates from Hall & Oates cowriting it, it's the maxi-mullet on the lead singer.

I grew up in the 90s, but I remember parts of the 80s and I have to say that Australia was the backwards cousin of the 1st world.  80s modernity wrapped around stale 70s-ness.  Sorry, I'm just being cryptic.

Deus Ex: HR or Do Sex: HR

I've been playing the new Deus Ex game for the past couple of weeks.  I really like it.  I don't generally have the patience any more for RPGs, but I'm fairly engrossed by this one.  I'm shit at the stealth, so I just resort to killing everyone.  I've never played the first two, and honestly I doubt I'll ever get around to them.

In any case, here's a trick using the cover mechanic.

Addendum.

When I left high school, I wanted to get into graphic design, architecture or something similar.  And instead to taking a year or two off, I figured I'd go straight into university.  We were taught a mixed discipline in my particular high school, where they lumped the two together along with some industrial design stuff.  I liked working with computers but I didn't consider them a career path at that time.

I didn't get into the graphic design course in the university I wanted, but I got an offer for foreign language, which I was indifferent about.  However, I got into the architecture course in Darwin, which I was willing to do, since I figured it was close enough.  The architecture course in CDU was not the full course, but what the hell, I could just transfer once I finished.

It was about most of the way into the 2nd year, when I realised how much I hated it.  The workload was insane and I could rarely wrap my head around the critique.  I've never understood art critique, especially in the context of architecture.  Also, I wasn't that great.  I struggled through the 3rd year twice, but I ended up bailing out.

Ultimately, I'm not sorry about doing this course or leaving it, because I met a lot of good people and it has lead to some interesting opportunities, but I do regret a lot of things.

IT3CD1 - Assessment 1 Part 1

1. How is the World Wide Web related to the Internet?
   The Internet itself is a series of interconnected computer networks that use TCP/IP protocol to communicate with each other and serve billions of people worldwide with various resources and services, including the World Wide Web.
2. What is the primary publishing format on the web?
   HTML 4.01 is the main format used on the web.
   
3. Include a useful hypertext link to any web site which lists the elements used in this publishing format.
   http://www.w3schools.com/tags/default.asp
   
4. Which organisation's role is it to develop standards for the web?
   The W3C is the primary organisation for developing open standards on the web.
   
5. List at least two popular web publishing standards described by this organisation.
   The organisation's webpage lists HTML, CSS and XHTML as popular standards.
   
6. What is this organisation's goals?
   The W3C's main mission is to develop the WWW to its full potential and sustain its long-term growth by creating standards that allow all people, regardless of language, location, hardware, software, browsing device, physical or mental ability, to access and benefit from the web without hindrance.
   
7. Why is validation a good practice for developing web documents?
   Validating a web document allows a web designer make sure that their web page is compatible with any browser or device.  It also allows them to know what element performs what function, in case they may need to build a page that will not be completely compatible with W3C standards.

Just a message.

This post is part of an assignment for my Certificate III of Information Technology course at Charles Darwin University.

I've been working with computers since high school and I somehow decided that I want to work with them for a career for the last couple of years.  I'm hoping to get the certificate so I can at least show prospective employers that I know what I'm doing.  Admittedly, from my perspective, the Certificate III is not a terribly difficult course to do, but I am hoping for it to lead into something more specialised.  I am definitely considering the Cisco CCNA.  I'm not sure if I'll go into the Bachelor of IT; I don't really care much for the theory side of things.

Fear and lack of clothing in Las Vegas.

All the culmination of struggling to get a bunch of cash to sort out a bunch of crap is finally about to pay off.  In a manner of speaking.  Of course, all that will go away and I'll be back at square one again.

Sorry, I'm rambling.  I just feel rather anxious, almost like this. Well, not quite like this.

A question.

I've been looking at getting a web domain for this blog.  Maybe a .net - they just seem more classy.  I've been rather surprised at how much I actually like blogging now.  I wasn't really into it before, I had a livejournal but I gave up on it years ago.  Maybe I've gotten old.

I've know a couple of people who use godaddy, and they're doing alright with them.  I'm looking at yahoo or crazydomains as well.  I'm just researching the idea, seeing if it's worth it.

I'm hoping to get some feedback on domain providers and see if anyone has got recommendations or stories about them.

My trip.

Flew into Alice Springs on Friday morning, fixed up the offices and flew out Saturday evening.  I'd never seen so many Landcruisers in one place in my entire life.  One of those Landcruiser-driving dickheads scratched the rental car, but my friend and main contractor got the money out of them.  The job itself was basic - we just replaced old computers with new ones and made them work with government systems.

Alice Springs was a lot nicer than I was expecting it be.  My impression of the place was that it was a crime-infested shithole that just happened to be relatively close to Uluru.  My current impression of the place is that it's a gorgeous, scenic, somewhat crime-infested shithole that is relatively close to Uluru.  It's surprisingly charming.  Cold as shit in the morning because it's basically in the middle of the desert though.

I've got free accommodation there, I might take a short holiday there to see the touristy sights.

Steve Jobs.

His resignation is a surprise.  This is in spite of the fact that he's been sick for a long time.  I was expecting Apple to graft his head onto a robot body or something.  I imagine Tim Cook will do alright steering that Apple juggernaut around.


Flip-open, metallic candy red iPhone 5s won't ever happen.

Waiting.

I'm really just waiting to get down to Alice Springs to finish this job.  I fly out on Friday morning.  I guess this week has been so uneventful that I'm just itching to do this stupid thing.  I just want to get this done and get paid so I can get my rego done.

I've never been to Alice Springs, so I'm kind of interested to see how bad or good it might be.  I'm only there for two days, so it's not like I'll get a decent feel of the place, but still...  When I moved to Darwin back in 2001 with my dad, we bypassed it completely.

We'll see what happens.

This week's events.

Well, Friday was horrible.  I spent 14 hours doing this one particular office, it was awful.  Though it worked out in the end because Saturday was a two hour job.  Today was a short one as well.

People who work in the government are fucking slobs by the way.

Next week should be pretty interesting.

Oh chillax, you such a crazy word.

I start up the second week of that temp job with Centrelink tomorrow.  It's not going to be difficult, but as it will go through the whole weekend, I won't have a day off until the 28th.  On the last week, I'll be flying to Alice Springs to upgrade that office.

I remember saying to someone once that the only way I'd ever go to Alice was if you paid me.  Funny how that turned out.

Anyway, here is an early sexgiving video.  I know you all celebrate sexgiving like I do, and the only way to do that is with Turquoise Jeep.  Or Kevin Bloody Wilson.

Click clack.

Slow and uneventful days are slow and uneventful.  Some people would say that it is a blessing.  I don't know, I'd like a bit of eventful once in a while.

Not this eventful, of course.

One more and then I'll sleep, I promise.

I wouldn't say I grew up on Weird Al Yankovic, but he is a massive influence on my screwed up taste in... everything.

Trying to keep my head above water with a lead lifejacket.

All this extra work I'm doing is to pay off my car registration and servicing, and my university IT course fees.  I'm assuming I have some left over for stuff, though that's uncertain.

I bought my car nearly two years ago.  It's a Mitsubishi Lancer with the 2.4L engine.  It's basically what I want in a car - not too big but big enough and with a big enough engine so it's stressless when I have to commute for my regular job.  I don't regret getting it, but the amount of money I have to pay for registration is a bit of a kicker.

Course fees; meh.

A summary of recent events.

It was a gigantic pain in the arse.  5 more offices to go.  The good thing is that our system is sorted out and the next offices are much smaller.

Anyway, The Horrors.

Futzing.

So, I have this temporary contract job with Centrelink where me and a couple of other people are replacing all their computers.  It's setup through a friend's business, which is being contracted by an IT company, which is being contracted by Acer.

We were supposed to start two weeks ago, but the computers didn't come in until last week and Centrelink cancelled the week after.  But it's all go now.  It's kind of fucked up my weekend, but whatever I need the money.

Also, Redcoats.

Work it.

I had to cover for the courier driver today.  I'd never driven a van before, so I was kind of shitting myself because of how big and cumbersome it is.  It worked out alright though.  I got the deliveries done on time and I didn't hit anything bigger than a child.

Kidding.

Otherwise, uneventful.

BrBa

Work was shit today.  Too many orders coming in right at the end of the day and lots of packing errors.  Hopefully they get found tomorrow and I can get to blitzing Wednesday and Thursday.

Just watched the latest Breaking Bad.  I'm not going to spoil too much, but it is really building to something very, very interesting.  Anyway, y'all here to see a video.  It's weird how likeable Gale was - a weird, libertarian, drug-cooking nice guy.

Current music. Again.

The first time I heard this song, me and a bunch of mates were heading into town and there was a red full moon in the sky from the Chilean ash cloud.  I'm not the first person to think of this, but yeah - perfect zombie slaying material.  I love the official clip, but I can't hear anything over the dialogue.

I really should try and get to sleep, but I'm a bit of an insomniac.

Current music.

I'll admit that this kind of thing has been done, but I really wanted to share this.  I really do like The Jezabels at the moment, great band.  I really love this kind of indie pop/space rock.

fatbloodyfinger

2 points for anyone who can guess where the name comes from.

Oh the huge manatee

So Standard and Poors cut the US credit rating to AA+.  It's not really going to do anything at all.  People still gonna invest money.

Couple of reasons -

The credit rating denotes how willing a country is to pay back their debts and how likely they are to default.  AAA means they make every effort to pay and there is zero chance of default.  AA+ means a hair less likely to pay back their debts and a 0.something % chance of default.

Also, Standard and Poors are a fucking joke.

Testing... testing... 1, 2, 3.

I'm not the biggest blogger, but I feel I should make an effort this time.  I'd like to think I'm interesting.