June 30, 2007: June 30, 2007
Things learnt in the USA
While I was in the USA i learnt a few things that TV & movies glazed over or I have missed. The obvious that food is huge is easy. HEre's a few that you might not have heard. Feel free to set me right if I'm wrong about anything.
1: In LA every 10th car is a stretch hummer? Seriously I mean WTF I saw about 20 of them in a 6 day period.
2: Broiling is just the US word for grilling. I saw a sign for broiled steaks and though Ahh yuck!
3: Santa Monica Blvd is like Sydney's Oxford St, only with less wig shops.
4: New Yorkers are actually really nice people. It's Sydney people that a rude bastards.
5: The Statue of Liberty looks bigger in the movies.
6: American restaurant's don't use the word gourmet that much. Unlike Sydney in which every second place sells Gourmet food.
7: New York pizza is big and plain. I missed gourmet pizzas.
7a: There are fifteen Ray's Pizza's in New York.
8: In NY there is a UPS truck on every block. But no driver.
9: There is one FedEx truck to every five UPS trucks.
9: Chevy Chase isn't just an actor/comedien it's also a bank and a town in DC!?!
10: There aren't that many fresh fruit juice places? You can't throw an orange without hitting on in Sydney but in LA and NY it was hard to find.
11: You can watch a stand up comedy show every night of the week! Although if a ensemble lineup leave after the 4th comedian as the rest will be shit.
12: 60% of outdoor advertising in the US is for movies and TV shows. 15% is for fashion 15% for financial services and the rest for the other categories
13: The majority of TV commercials in the US are awful and the majority are about financial services.
14: "The Late Shows" are actually filmed during the day!
15: They force you to laugh when in a live studio audience environment.
16: There are too many late night shows. Why is David Letterman the only one on Australia Free to air TV when there's Kimmy Kimmel, Leno, Conan O'Brien and that other English guy Craig Ferguson. Who the fuck is he?
17: NY women are sexy and smart looking. LA women are just sexy looking.
18: Buying Wacky Tabacky in LA is easy if you have a doctors certificate.
19: Kinkos is just as bad in the USA as it is here. Although due to exchange rates Australia is actually cheaper.
20: There are more "visible" homeless in Sydney than NY. Although I was there during really cold weather so they might have been in hiding.
21: Food is very sweet in the US. I nearly puked when I had a Snapple.
22: Coffee in the USA is the stuff in those glass jugs that no one drinks in Australia.
22a: If you ask for a white coffee you get looked at weird. Even weirder if you as a black person for one. Just drink tea to avoid any problems.
23: It's hard to find good Thai food in Manhattem. Indian and Chinese restaurants own that town.
24: There is a major sporting even on every night of the week.
25: Coyote Ugly is a real bar! and the bras are 5 deep around the walls. Although it's a lot more tame than the movie.
26: I didn't see one Sushi train.
Darth Maul Spud Apprentice: Mr Potatohead 2
Double-Handed Light Saber and cape action.
I actually cut the light saber off another Darth Tater to make this. After gluing it and photographing it I realized I could have just photoshopped it. Oh well if you get to see this in real life it looks the part.
links for 2007-06-30
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plugins for FCP to get video film like effects
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nikon promotion where a whole town received free cameras. Great promotion
Incandescent light bulbs to be banned
I didn't hear about this back in Feb but it seems Australia will ban standard lightbulbs in 2009. See an article on it here.
By forcing people to buy the more effecient compact fluorescent bulbs we'll save a huge amount of C02 and most people want have to do anything.. This is great news and I hope other countries follow. We may not have signed the Kyoto agreement but at least this helps.
June 29, 2007: June 29, 2007
Nutri Grain Mini Speakers = Pile of Shit
We got some Nutrii-Grain bars in our office and when I opened the pack I noticed we won a "mini speaker".
What a weird promo item i thought. It says for us with portable Mp3 players and laptops. Weird don't laptops have speakers? This must be pretty cool to replace your laptop speaker.
I tested it out and you can't hear shit. And what you can hear is muffled and distorted. I crank the volume on my laptop or Ipod and I can just hear it.
What a waste of time. What a waste of potential. Did Kellogs get a call from a Chinese distrubutor who had thousands of these to flog off and they just said yes?
I'll post a video of it in actionas it's truley the worst promo item Ive seen since the Yahoo! beach tent.
Darth Maul Spud Apprentice: Mr Potatohead
My Darth Tater arrived today (and my camera was finally fixed) so I was able to complete my Darth Maul. Having black arms, feet and cape made this one alot quicker. I'm still tossing up if I need to customize the teeth? Also I should cut the other Darth Tater light sabre and create a double sabre.
More photos to come!
Transformers
I got to see Transformers tonight on its opening night. Which is weird as Australia gets to see the film almost a week before the USA. I guess we get some payback for Grindhouse (which I got to see in the US anyway so I'm not that worried) The cinema was packed with geeks with one wearing an Optimus Prime mask.
The film is enjoyable even with the extra think M.Bay treatment over the top. There are some gunienly funny scenes and some great action moments. Although it was alot of shooting from the transformers rather than them going at it with fists. When they does happen it's over pretty fast. (I don't remember any Deceptacon getting it's head ripped off in the cartoon)
Then you have the camera spinning around the actors, the holding hands scenes, the old people being stupid but the young sexy stars know what to do bits. By the end of the 2.5 hrs you're a little underwhelmed by the film. It all ends happy, no one dies and the earth is saved for another sequal.
It's worth seeing if you're a fan (they play to the fans quite a bit) and I look forward to the DVD with all the extras.
Geek Rant: While I wasn't the biggest Transformers fan I still enjoyed the cartoon series and read a few comics/books. What I loved about them was their design. This 2007 movie makes all the Transformers look the same. They really lost all their personality. They look cool, the testures and small details but from a distance really look boring. Megatron looked no different than Skyscream and they both looked like a bunch or bent spoons.
I'm not sure of they wanted them to be more mechanically correct or just look more tech but they have all lost their personality. And good luck to any Mum who wants to bake a Optimus Prime cake. The new ones are too detailed to even start.
June 28, 2007: June 28, 2007
links for 2007-06-28
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new GDK kit for wii comign soon. make your own wii games
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a layer of dark liquid over a light source lets you interact with this table. Check out the video when they put a glass on it
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cool article on 300 game ideas. not all very good but still some food for thought
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funny viral video for triumph motocycles
June 27, 2007: June 27, 2007
links for 2007-06-27
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design your own fold up paper toy
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more toys to print, cut out and stick together
June 25, 2007: June 25, 2007
links for 2007-06-25
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facebook apps list. Widgets if you will. Good list for reference
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WTF caged sex toy
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cool laptop bag
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maze generator page and worlds most complicated maze
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WTF japanese products and packaging
June 24, 2007: June 24, 2007
links for 2007-06-24
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great site for movie title videos.
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viral campaign for lynx/axe/. extra sexual perception
June 23, 2007: June 23, 2007
Possum Invasion
This is better than Cobra vs Komodo which I saw on my holidays. Click here to view the whole video. The atom filsm player doesn't actually let you see the whole film. LAME.
June 22, 2007: June 22, 2007
June 21, 2007: June 21, 2007
June 19, 2007: June 19, 2007
links for 2007-06-19
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thumb wresling show with great costumes.
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cool costume masks
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prop and costume maker site.
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flash game, i cant explain it, just have a look
June 18, 2007: June 18, 2007
Michael Bay and his two dogs
Here's Michael Bay with his two dogs named Armageddon and Pearl Harbour!
Just kidding, if only Michael had a sense of homour about his work, they're actually named Mason and Gracie and you can see more on his Virb profile. Yay someone that doens't use Myspace.
That said I will be seeing Transformers when it comes out. I can't be the only one in the office not talking about it or making the transformation sound. ekkk oorrr kuk koook.
Flame On Ginger!!!
We just finished a site that lets you send a video of yourself on fire. We also did the Myspace Widget thing aswell seen above.
June 17, 2007: June 17, 2007
Google Adsense
Back in March I decided to put Google Adsense on a few old sites Ie had done and other misc pages that still generate OK traffic. This was mostly out of curisity rather than to make money.
I put the code on a handful of pages here and there (this sites archive pages included) and let it go. I also told Brett that I would donate all the proceeds (100%) to his Oxfam trail walk fund raising. This way all the dirty Google money goes to a good cause and I don't feel bad karma wise.
Well it's been 3 months and the Adsense is now earning more than my regular monthly donation every 2 days! And it's showing no signs of slowing down. If I was still paying rent it's be paying my rent and then some. While part of me wants to keep it all I know that I need to honour my donation promise. But it is hard to resist.
Some pages are performing amazingly well. Others bring in hardly anything. As some of the pages are flash I had to create alternate content to make the Adsense work. Otherwise it just shows up ads purely based off the page title.
Checking the Adsense stats is addictive. It's stats but with a $ value associated with it. The more traffic you get the more money you earn (usually)
So if you have a niche page that still gets some decent traffic (around 1,000+ views a day) then hook it up with AdSense and earn some cash on the side. And why not make all the money you make through this your regular donation to charity. I say niche as if you're page is about are particular topic (cars, music, games) then you'll hav a better chance of getitng relavent Google ads. If you put it on a blog liek this one that has no theme or makes any sense then don't expect many clicks.
Click the button below to sign up for AdSense. It'd take about 15 min to get started and then you can sit back and lets the pennies roll in.
Indonesia: Sleepy Bank Policeman
Quality security at this bank :) Reminds me of this other bank security guard from 2004.
Excuss the crap shot I had to secretly take this photo.
June 16, 2007: June 16, 2007
June 15, 2007: June 15, 2007
links for 2007-06-15
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Guy uses a plastic bag with blue dye and water to control a computer like multi touch technology
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Great Archive of old comic book ads
June 13, 2007: June 13, 2007
Virtual Koi Pond
Forgive the awful compressions. I guess the data rate couldn't handle the movement. Sad as the video came out really clear from the digi cam.
This was the koi pond that was right next to the restaurant we ate at. You basically eat above them! They go nuts for food and basically jump over each other to get the food. Koi's are really popular now in Indo now. Well amoung the people who can afford them I guess.
Oh and that's not my arms and legs (I didn't get a tan that good) it's Ervi's father. Who looks suprising like a fit Saddam Hussain. Which is scary and funny in so many ways.
Here's a photo that shows off these hungry fish better.
I'd love to have a koi pond was it not for the fact I don't have the space, money or patience to look after a pond properly.
June 12, 2007: June 12, 2007
Total Number of Shutter Releases for Camera
I had no idea Nikon kept track of the total number of shutter releases on their cameras. After checking my EXIF data for a photo.
Total Number of Shutter Releases for Camera: 29152
I had in my head I'd taken 50,000 so I was talking myself up.
I guess that's why my shutter on my D70 shat itself. It's going to cost $400 to fix and clean which is 25% of the camera cost. But if I don't get it fixed it might shit itself for good. Also $400 is worth piece of mind and not having to clean the dirt of every photo.
This data is only visible when I use the DXO program to process my photos so it must be deep in the EXIF.
Every Mortal Kombat Fatality
Remember when MK was cool? I do and now after watching this it seems so lame
At least they had some fun wirth it though. Note: this is 10 minutes you'll neve rget back
Below is the 2005 edition of the game and the fatalaties get a little better.
links for 2007-06-12
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potato dance by hasbro WTF
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scientists have fun filming farts with a heat sensitive camera
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Photos of old Polish Steel Mills being decommissioned
June 11, 2007: June 11, 2007
Crushing A Potato
When people talk about user generated content on video blogging they never mention that most of it is pure shit. Just like this video from Powerman65 of a man crushing a potato with his hand. How I stumbled unto this video is a another story unto itself.
Singapore Zoo: Elephant Feeding Time
This is one of my fav shots from my trip to Singapore. The Singapore Zoo was good but there were 5 attrations that were closed for renovations. They should have given a discount as many like the Orangutan enclosure are the big attractions.
The zoo is always hit and miss for photos. Sometimes you're lucky and others you just end up with a bunch of bland photos.
June 10, 2007: June 10, 2007
June 09, 2007: June 9, 2007
Michael Moore's New... Haircut!
I saw Michael Moore's Youtibe message and couldnt help but think he looks like one of those old gay guys that you see with a twenty something asian guy. It's kinda freaky. Before he was just a fat American average Joe looking guy and now he's kinda weird.
Oh and no offence meant to the older guys or the younger asian guys (Gaysians I was told they call themselves) out there in the gay community. As cliche as it sounds some of my firends fall under those categories. See my Mardi Gras photos for proof.
Update: A friend (Ashadi) suggested Michael look more like Peter Griffin and I agree. Check this scientific image below for proof. SO maybe he was going after the average, fat american look after all. Everyone loves Peter Griffin so now they'll love Michael Moore.
You can hardly tell the difference!?! hehe
Dirty Sensor
Upon returning from my three week holiday I discovered I had some nasty dirt on my sensor and thus all my photos.
I didn't check my phots and backed them up mid trip using a portable storage device with no preview. So any photo f8 and above has this nasty dirt on it. Well all the photos did but below f8 they blurred and blended with the photo.
My camera is now being serviced and hopefully cleaned.
June 08, 2007: June 8, 2007
links for 2007-06-08
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One for the gamers. How Hitler reacts when his microsoft live account gets cancelled
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some cool little programs with bugs
June 07, 2007: June 7, 2007
Popcorn Taxi: Breaking down 300
I saw a presentation by two Animal Logic guys last night at Popcorn Taxi. Well put together presentation and lots of info. If you aren't already jump on the Popcoirn Taxi mailing list, as the events are always great. Well most of the time. The Kevin Smith one still makes me laugh and I hope to see him talk again.
We're lucky to have people putting these shows on in Sydney as there isnt anything else like it.
June 05, 2007: June 5, 2007
links for 2007-06-05
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cool maps of retro games. as PNG format
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little video that interacts with your browser position and size
Lots-o-Movies
Thanks in part to flying to the USA and Asia in less than 30 days and having cable TV where I stayed Indo I saw heap of movies lately. Many of them very bad. Here in not particular order is a list which I hope to review. Some I hope to forget like Norbit
1: Norbit
2: Last King of Scotland
3: Komodo vs Cobra
4: Boa va Python
5: Spiderman 3
6: The Lords of Discipline
7: Deja Vu
8: Mirrormask
After seeing Norbit it made me try and think of the last Eddie Murphy film I watched and enjoyed. I couldn't only think of Beverly Hills Cop that and Coming to Amercia which is still a fav of mine.
June 04, 2007: June 4, 2007
links for 2007-06-04
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weird russian pig photo story
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dude that plays music from the fart noises he can make from his hands
June 03, 2007: June 3, 2007
links for 2007-06-03
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cool hand drawn poster of a flow chart
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little person site.
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movie about 2 guys going across america on a segway
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VW campaign about dirivng at night. great feeling and beautiful spot. has edit your own movie feature, google maps drive finder.
Commbank Homeloan Docs Junk
I now have a mortgage and this is all the junk that the Commonwealth bank sent me in additional to the actual paper work I needed like the contract. I had already thrown out some of the booklets (the Phone Banking Guide) before I realised how much crap there actually is. They even sent me three of the same thing!
The loan does come packaged with a Credit card and savings account but that's thier bundle. They sell it as a product so they should have the paperwork minimised.
They could also ask if you'd like to receive all this junk. ie do you need literature on electronic banking and our other services. Tick box if yes.
The next time you try to save paper at the office or home just think about all the shit that the big corporates are doing.
The Bazura Project Season 2
The Bazura Project - Season 2 TVC - Variety
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Those who can access the community TV channels in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne ie Channel 31 should tune in Thursdays at 9 and check out the Bazura Project. The second season of the funny movie review show.
June 02, 2007: June 2, 2007
Indonesia: The Bathroom Door
No thats not a dead dog. It's the bathmat. You really do have to experience an Indonesian bathroom and shower yourself to understand this photo.
Lets just say "I don't like Mandi's"
Note: you need to speak Bahasa Indo and English + be a fan of early 80's music to understand that joke.
I posted this photo to show not all the Indo photos I took were idealic tourist locations.
June 01, 2007: June 1, 2007
Indonesia - Lombok: Definitely not Peak Season
This is actually one of the smaller Gili islands off Lombok.
More info here
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gili_Islands
It costs us 300,000rp ($35 AUD) for 9 people to go across to there for a few hours. There are no cars on any of the smaller islands. Just bikes, and horse and carts. It was pretty awesome.