New blog

go here, and quit yer winging already!

(now there's replacement blog, will you finally stop checking for updates here?)

:)

redbubble journal entry/photo uploads

Hi Everybody!

For those sad individuals who still expect new posts, you can now rest easy. If you travel across to redbubble, you will be able to see some my best photos from Europe, and also a new journal entry! Over time, I'll also upload some older stuff as well, so all you photography buffs stay tuned!

Being a photography website, it is a little different to what I used to post here, but I think is still worth a read, particularly if you are into photography.

So head on over! You can also buy prints from the website as well if you like them enough, although in reality I don't really expect much in the way of sales. There's some good stuff from other artists, though, so you should still check it out!

Feel free to leave comments in the journal and pictures there...

All of this should be open to viewing by unregistered users, but you will need to sign up for a free account if you want to post/buy/sell anything on the site.

Thanks.

Europe trip pics

If you want to see some pics of my europe trip while I'm away, I can't really be bothered with the whole blog thing, but I will try to get some of the better pics up on facebook. For those who don't have facebook, I'll try to put some on flicker (see link below).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoges25/

See you on the other side!

So, did you miss me?

I came across a link to this blog and thought, what the hell, I'll check it out to see what I wrote. I have now discovered that there have been over 400 site visits to an inactive blog. You people need lives!

So, anyway, things have changed a bit since I posted last... first, I don't think the title of the blog is relevant anymore. I now have a Mac Mini and an iPhone. Also, I need a better url. Which means this blog is dead, people!

If it turns out that I have decent wifi while I'm in Europe I'll start a blog for that. I may restart this one under a different name sometime. Either way, I'll link here.

So... yeah.

A whole new level of nerdom...

Site Update

Status: Rocking out to my awesome new electric guitar!

Now listening to
Song: Desert Song
Artist: Hillsong

Obsession of the Week: Guitar Solos/Riffs

________________________________________________________________

So, i've decided to try something new on my blog. I've found all these cool penguin pics that seem to have an action for almost everything, so I'm going to try using them as and almost facebook like "status update" thing. That's in addition to the lastfm music profile and new look, which was a long time coming. Oh, and since I always seem to be fixated on some random crap, I thought I might share it for your amusement in the status update above.

Also, I have a new hobby/challenge - learning the electric guitar! I wasn't going to pick it up until after exams, but me being me, I figured I wasn't going to study much anyway, so I might as well do something productive when I procrastinate. As is clearly evidenced by this blog. After only an hour or so, I already have a few chords down, so here's hoping that it won't be as difficult as I thought it was going to be. It has been said by a lot of people that those who have learnt the keyboard or piano find picking up the guitar fairly easy. I have to say, suprisingly, it seems to be the case so far. While my playing is indeed awful at the moment, it's not taking me long to catch on to the basic, so I think I should be alright.

Now, obviously I couldn't put up a post without some kind of witty nerdy link/video thing. I seem to have developed an expectation for myself, so here it is. I'll let you read the story, but for those who don't read and need things simply explained, a scammer gets comically scammed. This should tide you all over until I make a real post later in the week, where I'll probably let my fustration out on Windows Vista. Enjoy.

The Dark Side of the Force...

So, it’s exam time again – the inevitable conclusion of the university semester. This for me generally means one thing – an abnormal and probably unhealthy addiction to internet reviews of the latest gadgets and youtube videos. This is not my greatest cause of concern, though. It is instead my increasing interest in Apple technology, namely their new Macbook Pros.

Before I continue, I probably should point out that I’ve never had a real issue with the hardware itself. Just the seemingly gimmicky software and “Apple Tax” that seems to go up with every release. My first experience with computers was with Apple, and that was for a good 4 or so years before I got my first windows laptop for high school – which spent most of its time either under warranty repair or being reimaged to “fix” the many, many issues with windows 98.

To demonstrate the differences between Linux, Microsoft Windows and Apple OSX, I believe I’ve found several analogies that may fit the bill:
First up we have Linux. Linux is like the quiet child genius who sits up the back of the class avoiding class discussion. Sure, he’s brilliant at school work – and does it quickly, but he’s in a class of his own. Nobody seems to understand him.
Then we have Windows XP. This is like the 40 year old man who still lives at home with his parents. No matter how much Dad tries to push him out, Mum just doesn’t have the heart to let him go. Sure, it’s great having him around to open those sticky lids on the sauces, but really, it’s time to move on.
Windows Vista is next. Vista is pretty much that overweight know-it-all that always sits at the front of the class and keeps asking those questions that just don’t need asking. Everyone hates him for it – not to mention the fact that he struggles to keep up in the 100 metre dash.
OSX is... umm... like.... Darth Vader. Stick with me here – Sure, it started off good and honest, what with its unique use of the mouse. Then it started with the lawsuits, iTunes tie-ins, and iPods and became bent on world domination. But people still bought into it, because let’s face it, Darth Vader was clearly a pretty cool guy.

As you can see from my heavily stretched and butchered analogies, there is an issue. Darth Vader eventually comes back from the “dark side”. Now, I have a huge problem – I like Unix. A lot. And this is what OSX is based on. Compounding the problem is that XP is too old and clunky, while Vista is consistently persistent in its lack of usability options and attempts (badly) to look like OSX. It also has way too many editions.

The main problem probably is that Macs are no longer just for rich idiots. No question, they are more expensive than ever, but when you look at what’s on offer in competition, there’s little choice. Either you pay a premium for quality and OSX, or you save a few bucks and get a perfectly good laptop and spend 3 days trying to get it to connect to your wireless router. Only to discover that the hardware on the machine isn’t compatible with the OS it came with. But it will in the future. Maybe.

Not helping is the fact that the MacBook Pro would probably give my desktop a run for its money, even on lower specs. I can also use the spare XP licence I've got lying around for those games that won't cope with Crossover.

With full time work next year, I will have more disposable cash floating around, which means that I will be in a better position than ever to consider the evil corporation bent on world domination. Damn.

“Every value I’ve ever held is being questioned, and I’m loving it!” Moss, IT Crowd.


EDIT: I'm not sure if this vid relates... you decide.