⇒ dean's list

wednesday recap:
recovering from yesterday's cold/flu
work
ate that enjoyo beef strog...not bad!
left work early
uni ceremony (amateur-like, poorly organised)
received that award (dean's list for academic excellence)
free food and beverages
thai-riffic in newtown
home

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⇒ irony, double up

went to Theo's academic prize ceremony today. Straight from work to USYD.
Pros: Bro won award, fast moving ceremony, food and (alcoholic) beverage 'closing ceremony'
Cons: lack of passion and creativity in speech-making zzzzzzzzz

So we got home and I open my letter from USYD--I'm expecting a bill or some student financial statement, but to my surprise I'm going to receive an award!!! There's a full ceremony and everything.

Here's the irony: we just got home from the exact same shindig for science faculty
Here's the double irony: the entire 6 and a bit years I wallow at uni, I get nothing. The very moment I dropout, they throw me an award!

Well I guess I've really made my point now (about work, uni, intelligence, success):
I'm not unemployed, an idiot or a loser. In your face anyone who doubted me!

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⇒ congratulations Dr!

my sister graduated from medical school yesterday. Amazing! She is now Doctor, instead of Miss.

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⇒ leaving today!

going to VIETNAM TODAY!

I hardly slept last night--you know my body rhythm's off. Anyhoo, delivered all 3 projects--2 pretty good, the other is one of my worst ever. Worst EVER. Many reasons: I ran out of time; I didn't care for the subject; I didn't feel motivated at all for the whole year; I was overcomitted to other activities such as work; I just can't do it anymore. At least not right now.

But enough about that, it's VIETNAM TIME! Plane leaves @ 1430. Ciao!

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⇒ project#3

had project#3 presentation tonight...went alright...i think?
no point in worrying about it now...2 more to produce on time!

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/22/ubisoft-on-assassins-creed-art-direction/
http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=4292&page=1

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/23/epson-touts-all-in-one-lcd-touchscreens/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/23/toronto-to-add-photo-surveillance-to-public-transit-vehicles/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/23/nasas-third-space-elevator-challenge-falls-short/

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⇒ infinite crisis

status report:
brother humiliated and wronged for no reason. Little Chicken shit punk ass no-hoper in 86 pegged his precious a water bomb at his noggin. How dare he!?!? Theo's the goddamn future of humanity, and that little shit desecrated him for NO REASON. I was so steamed I was ready to storm that bitch's hole he calls home with my steering wheel lock (which actually isn't mine, it's dad's). Fuck man! I'm so fired up, I'm still thinking of ways to burn his punk ass. Plans to get him dropped in juvenile school where he can get his ass owned by some other fuckwit...get housing commission on his ass...psychologically burn him...my wrath knows little restraint. And yet soft-handed parents want to back off. It's little things like this, which have led to the collapse of society. You can't let ANYONE get away with little things--no matter what age or status. These things escalate and soon enough, the crime becomes a way of life...

both parents still icy with me.

uni major project due in: 7 days

s h i t . . .

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⇒ free & strange

read:
http://photoshop.weblogsinc.com/2006/07/13/tips-for-mocking-up-a-web-page-in-photoshop/
http://photoshop.weblogsinc.com/2006/07/13/free-stock-photography-resources/
http://photoshop.weblogsinc.com/2006/07/13/animated-plane-flying-through-clouds/
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/10/13/cinematical-seven-non-horror-movies-that-scared-the-crap-out-of/

uni:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/12/new-tachikoma-spider-robot-on-the-loose/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/12/u-tsu-shi-o-mi/

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⇒ projected outcomes

these are some clips which I will draw ideas from for my projects. The first clip really amazes me in terms of naturalistic style; the entire production feels documentary like, yet we know it's science-fiction and unnatural. The director filmed it in such a manner and with such respect that the whole thing feels very 'real' and possible.

Neill Blomkamp's Alive in Joburg. A short film he made as a demo(?). He was recently attached to the proposed Halo movie (which is now defunct).
Read more »

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⇒ a dull boy...

read:

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/03/design-a-fallout-3-perk-win-notoriety-and-gaming-gear/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/03/joystiq-hands-on-gears-of-war-pc/
yessh! don't need a xbocks 360 to play the hotness...

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/02/a-galaxy-of-mario-galaxy-videos/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/post-a-phone-the-no-frills-mailable-landline/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/03/diy-wooden-keyboard-kit-brings-out-the-carpenter-in-you/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/artificial-corneas-could-save-eyesight/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/the-solar-trees-of-vienna-a-lovegrove-if-you-will/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/04/april-fools-8-bit-tie-now-available/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/04/zero-punctuation-reviews-halo-3-hates-it/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/05/todays-trickiest-warthog-jump-video-halo-the-three-towers-re/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/04/gametap-thursday-agent-47-causes-an-emergency/


http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/uruguay-reportedly-set-to-buy-100-000-olpc-xo-laptops/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/04/mit-conjures-up-algorithm-for-neural-prosthetic-device/

all work and no play...

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⇒ project planning

due this sat 6th!

what am i thinking of? well i don't want to do a parallel universe story because it's too impossible--it's close but since it never happened, it never will (at the given point in human history again). So I've decided on an abstract time story--kind of like the way Star Wars is a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..., yet people still mistake it for futurism. I've been looking at alternate forms of technology, but there only seem to be 3 major forms of sci-fi novella: cyber, bio and steam. And that's not considering paradise/doomsday scenarios which should have befallen our successors, whether they be robo-uprising, nuclear holocaust, alien annihilation or exhaustion of resources; I'm trying to think of something that hasn't been done before, or at the very least done in that way.

Anyhow, here's some of the research I've been doing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Industrial_Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk
http://www.crabfu.com/steamtoys/diy_steampunk/
http://bigredhair.com/robots/
http://www.steamwars.com/
http://steamtrek.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopunk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcyberpunk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-futurism
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/30/suzukis-pixy-ssc-concept-thrives-in-post-nuclear-wastelands/

Labour day forever!!!

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⇒ swimmin

gymmed yesterday. overall disappointed with performance. but i did manage to bench 60 a couple of times. that's among the handful of other times i've ever done it. nice...swim felt good...poor performance, but the water felt cool, not cold.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/28/wii-sports-tops-2007-bafta-nominees/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/28/panoramic-gigapan-images-to-hit-google-earth/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/28/visa-rolls-out-paywave-enabled-micro-tag-key-fobs/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/27/longest-ever-space-tether-fails-to-deploy-flings-capsule-toward/

pour uni:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/28/robot-museum-in-nagoya-japan-our-first-and-last-visit/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/28/air-driven-robotic-legs-hop-skip-and-jump/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/28/takara-tomys-i-sobot-gets-reviewed-videoed/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/28/brandos-palm-phone-jammer-kills-gsm-calls-dead/

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⇒ don't wanna blog!

haven't been bothered to blog proper lately...can't be bothered now, but i'll try summarize as many events as possible:

yesterday went gym ~230KCAL consumed. Treadmill below par (15' mile), bike--much better, 10' for ~6km. Chest and shoulder focus. swim was icy.

haven't been eating right or feeling right. was sick for ~2 days in middle of week. the dehydration carried over to gym performance. also, experiencing dry skin sensation around left eye. coupled with gym sweat and wiping = human sandpaper and very sore eyesocket.

planning more gundam purchases...waiting for the aussie dollar to hit the right mark. haven't done any uni work lately. uni sucks balls. nothing left that interests me. work will cease on oct 18. start looking for new job to start in dec soon.

fin

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⇒ links

KillaCycle crash http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/33853/113/
basically, the world's fastest(?) battery powered motobike's creator can't handle the beast he unleashed and crashes (natch). This beast does 0-60MPH in 0.97s!!! I've taken more time to blink!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/14/zicplays-microkey-mp3-player-is-barely-there/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/13/robots-robots-robots-and-other-stuff-at-nextfest-2007/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/14/nintendos-wii-continues-to-be-a-smash-with-seniors/
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070913/D8RKI2F80.html

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⇒ uni post

has anyone else noticed that scientists may have a 'God complex'? With all the robotic creations and manipulation of unnatural 'lifeforms', doesn't anyone else see this as a power-mongering desire to be God? Has anyone seen Robocop? Try to look past all the violence--there's a surprising number of spiritual references. Just a thought...

Three Laws of Ugobe Life Forms (as follows).

* A (robot) life form must feel and convey emotions
* A (robot) life form must be aware of itself and its environment
* A (robot) life form must learn, develop, evolve over time

from http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/04/ugobe-defines-its-own-three-laws-dooms-us-all-to-future-of-robo/

and new laws proposed for autonomous US kill-bots here

60% of uni marks here:

2] Writing a science fiction essay that explores a very near possible future scenario. This essay is about developing a critical narrative that addresses new relations of agency and power, produced and propelled by the emergence of new technologies, and the changing nature of traditional relationships and new forms of culture and society these new power relations evolve. 30% of final mark.
[3] Developing the concept for a digital interface (beyond the screen). This can take on the form of a (digitally augmented) performance, an interactive installation or computer game that engages the (possibly networked) participant or player in the issues explored in your essay (assignment 2). The concept has to be presented in form of a short brief (250 words), an installation scheme, prototype images, and images of related projects 30% of final mark.

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⇒ pour uni

http://evolvehappy.blogspot.com/2006/11/robot-with-human-soul-explores-remotely.html
http://evolvehappy.blogspot.com/2006/11/robots-mate-and-evolve.html
http://evolvehappy.blogspot.com/2006/11/brilliant-minds-forecast-next-50-years.html
http://evolvehappy.blogspot.com/2006/11/dark-energy-dates-back-to-young-days-of.html
http://evolvehappy.blogspot.com/2006/11/better-than-blood.html
http://evolvehappy.blogspot.com/2006/11/childcare-gets-robotic.html
http://evolvehappy.blogspot.com/2006/11/science-of-web-begins.html


und pour funne:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/07/messaging-toaster-burns-notes-into-your-breakfast/

http://view.break.com/362761 - Watch more free videos
R A M B O !
not as good as the first preview, but still awesome!

awesomely blunt review of bioshock--at times his accent and vocal speed overwhelm me and I don't follow what he just said but overall a very cool clip and a very incisive review.

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⇒ iGym

very sore after gymming yesterday! my lats and shoulders especially. I don't know if it's new muscle coming in or that cramping I felt while swimming. But it's all good--no pain, no gain...

for uni:
http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/08/29/thoughtful-criticisms-of-second-life/
http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/08/29/akela-answers-your-questions-senses-working-overtime/

robotics and stuff:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/27/kogoro-kurata-working-on-a-giant-mech/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/29/winter-the-dolphin-gets-fitted-with-prosthetic-tail/

hella cool t-rex models and stuff:
http://www.f-favorite.net/dinosaur/shopping/item.cgi?mode=detail&file=skull&code=70324
http://www.f-favorite.net/dinosaur/shopping/item.cgi?mode=detail&file=skeleton&code=70295
http://www.f-favorite.net/dinosaur/

Gunpla engrish site:
http://www.bandai-hobby.net/english/bakuc.html

"Gime? What's a Gime?
Oh! Gime"

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⇒ living free, stayin' alive

saw Live Free or Die Hard tonight...seriously, did the promoters think we wouldn't make the connection that it was a die hard movie judging by the enormous Bruce Willis presence on the poster or the 'Die Hard' part of the title? Jeez...

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/14/yamaha-announces-feature-packed-rx-z11-home-theater-receiver/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/14/knife-hand-chop-bot-automatically-threatens-your-digits/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/13/panasonic-develops-walkthrough-iris-scanner-to-hasten-id-checks/
http://www.tastyblogsnack.com/about/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/13/china-outdoes-itself-with-unprecedented-surveillance-initiative/
http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/artbook.html
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/13/tumbler-batmobile-modded-to-house-pc/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/13/sony-kiosks-hit-korean-theater-bank/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/13/rumorang-the-brewing-apple-nintendo-war/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/13/drug-kingpin-ided-using-advanced-voice-identification/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/13/sarajevo-cafe-named-club-bill-gates/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/13/samsungs-one-month-fuel-cell-piggy-given-a-real-purty-mouth/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/13/the-seoulllll-e-traaaaain/

http://www.lem.pl/cyberiadinfo/english/kiosk/kiosk.htm#solstation
http://www.drewhemment.com/2004/locative_dystopia_2.html
http://digitalculture9186.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/my-life-can-be-a-made-up-story/#comment-27

http://www.notam02.no/~hcholm/altlang/ht/Spanish.1.html

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⇒ crossbone gundam

skull and crossbone gundam arrived today. pretty schweet

http://hawtymcbloggy.wordpress.com/2007/08/06/top-10-halo-pick-up-lines/
http://www.bpnutsandbolts.com/battleshippretension20.mp3
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/10/dvd-laser-retrofitted-into-mini-mag-flashlight/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/10/usb-necktie-with-built-in-fan-keeps-you-cool-single/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/10/omni-directional-treadmill-could-put-you-in-the-game/
like a giant hamster wheel--for humans...

for desc:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/10/man-has-thumbs-altered-to-improve-iphone-dexterity/

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⇒ surveillance

fun:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/rise-audiophile-cd-player-ships-in-three-separate-cases/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/08/optimus-prime-pc-case-mod-stands-nearly-seven-feet-tall/


surveillance:
fisher price plays big brother here | unmanned military vehicles here | France's CCTV upped here | Judge limits NYC surveillance here | London surveillance veil here | Motion interpolating surveillance here | Surveillance dog here | Surveillance drones here | RFID chips in workers here | Your own top-down spyplane here |

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⇒ desc9186

finish reading:
http://people.arch.usyd.edu.au/~petra/2007/DESC9186/
http://digitalculture9186.wordpress.com/
http://shopping.yahoo.com.au/xPC-Media-SDC-Snow-Crash-Bantam-Spectra-Book
http://www.lem.pl/cyberiadinfo/english/kiosk/kiosk.htm#solstation
http://www.drewhemment.com/2004/locative_dystopia_2.html
http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=441

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/07/nintendo-has-patent-on-motion-sensing-portable/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/07/iphone-nes-emulator-zomg-hello-mario/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/07/todays-multi-directional-videos-everyday-shooter-and-mutant-stor/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/07/microsoft-nasa-team-up-on-3d-photo-shoot-of-endeavour/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/07/inflatable-dress-turns-into-a-chair-for-impromptu-sits/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/07/avago-technologies-develops-hybrid-touch-sensitive-controller/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/07/homeland-securitys-latest-non-lethal-weapon-the-pukelight/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/06/starcraft-origami-ignites-paper-wars/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/06/blizzcon-the-dances-of-warcraft/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/07/researchers-crack-the-secret-of-levitation-hoverboards-imminent/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/06/fully-functional-guitar-hero-controller-crafted-from-lego/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/06/nec-and-hitachi-roll-out-water-cooled-hard-drives/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/06/chinese-anti-corruption-game-a-local-hit/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/06/heavenly-sword-producer-defends-against-itagakis-jabs/

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