Of I.T. and TravelingOf I.T. and TravelingThese are the tales of an I.T. professional gypsying around the world. Articles
Walking for Android
2010-10-28 02:55:00 You may have just read that I recently duct taped my own walking treadmill. Whilst driving home I realized a reward would be nice to encourage me to keep going, instead of just crawling into bed with my laptop. Sydney's winter is coming, and while not as cold as back home, it is colder than you might think. Plus, our house doesn't seem to provide insulation (is reverse insulation possible?) - so it can hit 5-8C inside. The deal I made was this: if I can walk to Melbourne, I'm allowed to buy an Android phone/tablet. Walking to work or hiking doesn't count, only the time inside on the TreadDesk. We created a simple spreadsheet on Google Docs to track our progress. I'm contemplating making a little map that shows how far our virtual walking has taken us, but that's pretty low on my list of personal projects.
Trek to Warragamba
2010-10-28 02:55:00 The fireroad to the hole was quite steep, and we lost at least one beer along the way. There are several large cities around the world that blend a great mix of tame and wild elements within the same borders. Portland, where I went to University, was certainly one of them. Located within a 15 minute bike ride from the CBD, the park has an area of over 5,000 acres and makes up part of some of the best biking in Portland. Sydney, where I live now, has similar great attractions. Yesterday we visited Warragamba Park, nestled just outside Penrith, after a morning of work at the Richmond campus. (W worked, I talked with Nathan). We left the house quite early so W could be at the campus before 8:30, had a pleasant drive, and finally arrived. I helped haul the equipment out to the trees for W to do her experiments, and retreated into the demountable to plug in my laptop and read. W's ex-coworker, Nathan, a faculty member at Boston University, visited the site and we started disc... More About: Trek
First Time Boules
2010-10-28 02:55:00 Our regular weekends involve French on Saturday, and lounging around on Sunday. This Sunday, however, e had other plans. Our friends Daisy and Remko invited us over for a few drinks and to play boules. The score was initially 2-12, and we came back to 14-12. Remko and Daisy kept tossing the Jack short, and eventually pulled significantly ahead. We then switched to an amazing dinner: some Indonesian rice, some cabbage, lots of beer, and some chicken. Some great chicken. Daisy regularly throws pots for fun, and asked us to take a few home. W selected two small bowls, which have become our yoghurt bowls. I used to throw pots when I was younger, and I have to say, these are of great quality. Much appreciated! More About: Time
Two Days in Dubbo
2010-10-28 02:55:00 W and I are quite big fans of trains. I especially like sitting back and relaxing, reading a good book, and writing postcards. After our 60-hour train-ride through China, the 6-hour train-ride from Sydney to Dubbo was no problem. One aspect we researched in Dubbo was how to get around without a car; we like to live green, and renting a car is sometimes a bit expensive. After eventually finding the bus schedule, which didn't even go anywhere near the zoo, we knew we had two options: 1) take taxis and rent a bike, or 2) rent a car. Two bikes for four hours in the zoo costs $30, plus the taxi around the city. Unfortunately, Dubbo is just a bit too big to comfortably walk around, and being in Western NSW, it is 40C during the summer. We opted to rent a car. Two blocks from the rail station was Budget, where we had pre-booked a small rental. We quickly visited our Hotel, the Cattlemen's Inn, and then went to one of the local vineyards, the Tombstone. W and I have visited se... More About: Days
Build A Treadmill Desk for $9.85
2010-10-28 02:55:00 There are a few problems with living a modern life, especially as a computer/office person, most notably the sedentary lifestyle that comes with the package. The last few years have been the most inactive of my life; I joked today about not having a bruise or drop of blood since arriving in Sydney. Although I've never been a super athlete, I was in decent enough shape in Uni to know that I'm now heading down a slippery slope. The tipping of the iceberg was when my dress pants started to become too tight at the waist, and since I only dry clean them, I can't even make up an excuse. Additionally, they were tailored one trip to Bangkok, so I can't even make an excuse that they were tight to begin with. The gym situation in Sydney, at least in our neighborhood, is a bit dire. In summary, there aren't any gyms nearby, and any gyms in the city are quite a bit more expensive than what I would really like to be paying (the last time I paid a gym fee was a student, and it was like...
New Year's Eve 2008
2009-09-22 23:21:00 Last year we had a very special New Year's -- on one of the private piers next to the Harbour Bridge (arguably one of the largest displays of fireworks in the world). We had great food, good company, and jaw dropping views. Our friend, Anita, wsa not in the country this year, so we had to find an alternative. The residue from the mortars was landing all around the train. Our first plan was to try and go into one of the parks on the North side, thinking that somehow the view would be better. I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to get into the city until pretty late, and all the parks would likely be filled up. Yan-Shih and I pondered for a little while, and both came up with an idea: the train. Last year we noticed that the train still crossed the bridge while the fireworks were going off. We looked up the schedule, checked for delays, and at 11:03, caught the train. We were actually scheduled to arrive at 11:55, which we thought we would just hang out on the platfor...
On Being Rich
2009-09-22 23:21:00 I first learned the term "white privilege" during my first year in University. I don't remember if it was from a general education class, or from meetings in ASPSU (student government), or in the NAACP, but the revelation has always humbled me. Today, I had another revelation. Yan-Shih and I woke up before 7:00am, jumped on the bus, and attended our French class. After class we hurried back to Granville train station to pick up her lost phone, then spent the rest of the afternoon reading in Borders. My mom offered to deposit $50 or so into my bank account for my birthday, but I told her I would prefer just a card (or small gift she thought I would like). In the mail arrived Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. I had already read Blink, so quickly opened this book. If you ever find yourself wanting an easy, entertaining, and educating read, I cannot recommend either of these books enough. I finished Blink in one sitting, and Outliers in two. Regardless, I realized something talk... More About: Rich
French Class and Laser Tag
2009-09-22 23:21:00 I'm about to head off to bed, but I have to admit, today has been very productive. Yan-Shih and I woke up at 6:20am (it is a Saturday), had breakfast, and went into the city. At 9:00am we started our new French class, which looks like it will be great fun. Our teacher has great energy, the students are interesting (and seemingly bright), and I've picked up a copy of Asterix. Although I haven't made it past the first page, I've enjoyed looking up the words, and reliving a comic book I read as a kid. We haven't learned conjugation yet, so I might wait to read more until next week. After class we had some Japanese noodle, and joined Clinton, Linda, and Co. for a little laser tag. While I've only played laser tag a few times in my entire life, when I learned Yan-Shih had never played, I knew we had to join. She appeared to enjoy herself, even though Falcon (me) was the undisputed winner (19,000 points!) Feels good to win, even if it involves acting like an eight year old.... More About: Laser , Class
Quick Trip to Hawaii
2009-09-22 23:21:00 I closed my eyes and visualised being a 16 year old again (visualising driving on the right side of the road), and we set off. Yan-Shih and I have just returned from a trip to Hawaii for Ian's wedding - and what a fun, fast-paced time we had! I left work a few minutes early on Thursday and went straight to the airport, where I met Yan-Shih, and we boarded our 6:00pm flight to Honolulu. The flight was slightly bumpy, and we tried to sleep. Our flight of choice was Jetstar, which was mediocre as always (imagine flying EasyJet for 10 hours), but we knew to plan ahead as much as possible. After arriving in Honolulu we quickly boarded the little bus to the other terminal, and boarded a second plane to Maui. A short island hop later and we landed in Kahului. Immediately after leaving the airport, and marveling at how tan everybody was, we hitched a ride with the Thrifty van to the rental car depot. Just as we arrived at the depot we glanced over and saw a tow truck with a totalle... More About: Quick , Trip
Easter Weekend
2009-09-22 23:21:00 We're just wrapping up a great four day weekend down here in Australia - hmm, four days. Yan-Shih and I had an eventful few days. Day 1 - Thursday night we went up to the Blue Mountains and stayed with a few friends. I've always enjoyed going up there - it reminds me how much I like mountain terrain. We meandered back down to Sydney on Friday and started contemplating what to do with the rest of the weekend. Day 2 - Saturday we woke up early and drove to the local supermarket, bought some food for the week (the markets would be closed on Friday and Sunday), and drove back home. Quickly after arriving home we turned the car around and headed out to Kangaroo Valley, about two hours South of our house. The drive was quite lovely, and traffic was light. We arrived at the campsite and were stunned by how large it was - there could be several thousand campers there. After driving around and locating the ideal spot, so we thought, we tossed out the tend and setup camp. There wasn... More About: Easter , Weekend
My GF and Vista
2008-06-04 00:00:00 My girlfriend's laptop has 1GB of memory, and Vista . I just heard a classic quote from her today: "I think Vista plus Office equals Monster." Followed by... "I just clicked the exsomething.exe with the somethingelse.exe and hit end task. Now my desktop went black."
Into the New House
2008-05-29 00:00:00 I have a mere 12 minutes until my Laptop (running Ubuntu 7.10) is fully upgraded to the newest release, so it seems like a perfect time to spew a few updates of my own life. The last few weeks have been pretty chaotic, to say the least. Yan-Shih and I found our own place -- yay! We are located out in Pendle Hills. The commute to work isn't really that much different, and taking the bus is actually likely even a tad quicker. Living in a house again, as opposed to an apartment, is nice. Yan-Shih is warming to the idea rapidely, and generally appears to be enjoying herself. We did the move in one day, which considering we don't have that much stuff, isn't anything to brag about. However, we also picked up a few couches from Bondi that day, and more shopping at Ikea in the afternoon. Last weekend we picked up a fridge and washing machine. Both are in very good order, and we acquired them at bargain rates. This last Monday we had two of our friends come in from Taiwan, so h... More About: House , New House
Hard Drive Bugs
2008-04-06 00:00:00 This is a pretty pointless entry, but I found this incident amusing. I put together my external enclosure this morning and noticed that there was some bug crawling around inside it (I haven't used it in a while). I couldn't really be bothered getting rid of the bug, so I just closed the enclosure and hoped for the best. About an hour later I was moving some files off my laptop onto the drive and I heard this really dreaded "blugrrrrrrrrrrrr" -- even Yan-Shih looked over and said "oh no!" For a few seconds my thoughts were of a failing hard drive, until I realized the bug tried to crawl out the little fan. Oh, the little amusing things. More About: Drive , Bugs , Hard , Hard Drive
I Caught a Fish
2008-04-06 00:00:00 Yesterday I was lucky enough to go on a boat ride with my co-workers -- a "team building" activity. Although we didn't do the typical team-building stuff, I think everybody generally had a great time. Clinton and I brought a case of beer, Alanna brought the wine and food, and James was the designated boat driver. The fishing was medicore. Our boat caught maybe 7 catfish, 2 little fish, and 1 flat looking thing. Obviously I don't know much about fishing! After the trip I feel like I learned a little bit about every person in the team, which is what team-building is all about. More About: Fish , Caught
BBQ at Coogee
2007-12-30 00:00:00 Yesterday we went to Coogee beach for a bbq, and I must say, a bbq in December is pretty nice. Wan (our flatmate) and I visited the store in the early afternoon and bought a case of beer and $50 worth of meat. One of the nice things about the beach is there are free bbq pits to use -- just push the button, and away you go. After a few hours of eating we took a short walk to the beach. I was nominated as the DD, so took Wan and one of his friends, to change and his house. Shortly we were back at the beach, and on our way home. Overall, a successful afternoon.
A Car Accident
2007-10-29 00:00:00 First off, don't worry, it wasn't me. The day started off as usual: check email, call the United States, take care of business. Yan-Shih baked some muffins, and some yummy scones. To get out of the house we decided to take a little trip down to Oxford street in the City and go to one of the market (YS loves markets). Maybe 2:00 we left he house and headed down Parramatta road for the City. An hour later we were parked down some side street and walking towards the markets. While much more "unique" than the markets in Taiwan (which typically sell the same stuff over and over), we quite enjoyed ourselves. One of the food vendors was looking to sell some extra kebab huge sandwich things, and lowered the price from $8,50 to $5. We picked up two of them. After some time wandering through the little market we continued down Oxford street. Yan-Shih popped in to every store she liked, and I stood outside with the rest of the blokes. Eventually we made it back to the care and sta... More About: Accident , Cide
Delayed for Five Days 2007-07-01
2007-07-15 00:00:00 Delayed for Five Days 2007-07-01 More About: Five Days
A Zoo, Bears and Monkeys 2007-07-02
More articles from this author:2007-07-15 00:00:00 A Zoo, Bear s and Monkeys 2007-07-02 More About: Ears 1, 2, 3 |
 |
|
 |
