Well. Cooked for 16 people last night and thats the most i've cooked for. (I think it was 17 - i might be out by 1). Got asked to cook for them the night before as i've got two friends going overseas (Dave is off to Aspen and Dave is off to Brazil).
It went quite well, a tasty 3 course meal (lots of flavour) was accompanied by Dom Pedros and a few cheeky tequilas (thats dave's doing). The theme was that everyone had to dress in all white clothing (which a few people adhered to... not everyone has white trousers). I'll definately cook for dinner parties more often - its lots of fun.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Well. Once again, I know what its like to have a stake driven through your heart. You see it in vampire movies but this is no movie. Even worse is when you're to blame. Gotta kick yourself.
On a completely different topic - I forgot my sisters birthday. Argh! So I'm having a bad couple of months. She's back from holiday sometime today so tomorrow I'll have to make some long distance gift buying, etc. I do think its too late tho - few things are worse than having your close family forget your birthday. Especially if you're also going through tired times. Argh!
I was going to buy a car (i dont trust my current car) but I'm going to hang back and find a bit of direction first. There are more important things.
On a completely different topic - I forgot my sisters birthday. Argh! So I'm having a bad couple of months. She's back from holiday sometime today so tomorrow I'll have to make some long distance gift buying, etc. I do think its too late tho - few things are worse than having your close family forget your birthday. Especially if you're also going through tired times. Argh!
I was going to buy a car (i dont trust my current car) but I'm going to hang back and find a bit of direction first. There are more important things.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Well... ended up buying another 6 tickets for RW. I only managed to get field standing. It sold out at 5 and I know that there are friends who are going to want tickets. I've already given 2 away (for the price i bought them).
I went to Mexicasa on friday. Its a great mexican resturant in village walk in sandton. Lots of tequilla was flowing (too much actually) and even a tabasco shooter.
Otherwise, at work on a sunday night pondering over a messaging system. Happiness.
I went to Mexicasa on friday. Its a great mexican resturant in village walk in sandton. Lots of tequilla was flowing (too much actually) and even a tabasco shooter.
Otherwise, at work on a sunday night pondering over a messaging system. Happiness.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
I've just finished reading the Assassins Trilogy by Robbin Hob. Along with this I've been listening to Coldplay X&Y, James Blunt, and Now 41 (assorted pop artists).
Its easy reading and quite personal as it closely follows a single character, FizChivalry, the bastard son of a prince who abdicates and gets killed. A whole lot of intrigue by his "uncle" leads to various political issues in which he gets thrust into as a catalyst for others. Fortunately, there are bigger issues (it all makes sense in the end). Hobb takes us on a tour of the entire fantasy genre without overdoing any one particular aspect. I particularly enjoyed how the "magic" aspect was integrated into the story without overpowering the story.
There is a good love story or two that run through the three books and this seemed to coincide well with the James Blunt and Coldplay CDs I recently bought. I do feel that this got dragged out in quite a bit more detail in book 2 than was necessary but there is alot of significance to it when it comes to closing the trilogy.
I enjoyed the "encyclopedia" extracts that were at the start of each of the chapters that give you background to the world as the story progresses. At points I was reading chapters to get to the next extract.
As a whole, the trilogy is quite good and I recommend it to fantasy readers and those who enjoy fantasy once in a while. The trilogy is definately larger than the sum of its books. Book 3 brings alot of closure to some very large open ended questions from book 1.
Its easy reading and quite personal as it closely follows a single character, FizChivalry, the bastard son of a prince who abdicates and gets killed. A whole lot of intrigue by his "uncle" leads to various political issues in which he gets thrust into as a catalyst for others. Fortunately, there are bigger issues (it all makes sense in the end). Hobb takes us on a tour of the entire fantasy genre without overdoing any one particular aspect. I particularly enjoyed how the "magic" aspect was integrated into the story without overpowering the story.
There is a good love story or two that run through the three books and this seemed to coincide well with the James Blunt and Coldplay CDs I recently bought. I do feel that this got dragged out in quite a bit more detail in book 2 than was necessary but there is alot of significance to it when it comes to closing the trilogy.
I enjoyed the "encyclopedia" extracts that were at the start of each of the chapters that give you background to the world as the story progresses. At points I was reading chapters to get to the next extract.
As a whole, the trilogy is quite good and I recommend it to fantasy readers and those who enjoy fantasy once in a while. The trilogy is definately larger than the sum of its books. Book 3 brings alot of closure to some very large open ended questions from book 1.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
In the last week I've had 2 of the best burgers. (1) A normal beef cheese bacon and pineapple (i think) burger from Chuckleberrys, and (2) a single mild chicken burger, no mayo, with extra cottage cheese from Steam.
I tried a Quarter Pounder Delux with an extra "100% beef" patty. It makes a good burger and almost as good as a king steer. The only reason that the king steer doesnt come out on top is that i think its too juicy and its classified as fast food. The other two burgers are slightly more wholesome.
The extra cottage cheese makes a huge difference. A burger is all about the flavour. If there is too much bun or if its too dry, or the sauce is too synthetic such that you cannot taste the burger, then its not worth eating. You mightaswell have bread or a bottle of sauce.
There is this little german burger maker in the far corner of the Rosebank Flea Market that also makes good burgers. Its a great burger but it seems to be missing something. They put mayo on the burger to transport the taste but you end up tasting mayo instead of the combined burger flavour. It is definately a high quality burger.
An interesting burger possibility is to have a burger that changes its taste as you eat it. You could possibly have a beef pattie made up of two different mixtures and then somehow get them to bind together. Not sure how strong a bind you could make.
I tried a Quarter Pounder Delux with an extra "100% beef" patty. It makes a good burger and almost as good as a king steer. The only reason that the king steer doesnt come out on top is that i think its too juicy and its classified as fast food. The other two burgers are slightly more wholesome.
The extra cottage cheese makes a huge difference. A burger is all about the flavour. If there is too much bun or if its too dry, or the sauce is too synthetic such that you cannot taste the burger, then its not worth eating. You mightaswell have bread or a bottle of sauce.
There is this little german burger maker in the far corner of the Rosebank Flea Market that also makes good burgers. Its a great burger but it seems to be missing something. They put mayo on the burger to transport the taste but you end up tasting mayo instead of the combined burger flavour. It is definately a high quality burger.
An interesting burger possibility is to have a burger that changes its taste as you eat it. You could possibly have a beef pattie made up of two different mixtures and then somehow get them to bind together. Not sure how strong a bind you could make.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Kuro5hin - The French Scape Goat
I feel quite strongly about this. Unnecessary and orchestrated. A true friend will take advice and criticism from a friend, without retalliation. Providing friends with gifts doesnt mean that they must agree with your viewpoint.
This is where the misguided few with influence do the most damage to society in the long run. To follow a pattern, family feuds in italy last/lasted ages. I imagine that sentiment built up in the last few years last just as long.
Sad.
I feel quite strongly about this. Unnecessary and orchestrated. A true friend will take advice and criticism from a friend, without retalliation. Providing friends with gifts doesnt mean that they must agree with your viewpoint.
This is where the misguided few with influence do the most damage to society in the long run. To follow a pattern, family feuds in italy last/lasted ages. I imagine that sentiment built up in the last few years last just as long.
Sad.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Just had my hair coloured silver for CANSA. I'll see if i can get a photo posted. I'm going to start using Flickr to post photos.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Well... i'm waiting for some database analysis to finish running (+- 6 hours). I mightaswell add another thought about the cellphones.
There should be an option that will put automatically put cellphone into silent during a meeting (as scheduled by calendar integration). That way, you dont get notification that you've got a meeting in 15 minutes during your previous meeting and disrupt a meeting of about 10 to 12 people. If anything, there should be a configurable chime so that you could set it to some slight beep + buzzer.
---
I've realised that i've been working quite late for the last 4 to 5 weeks. Its a good excuse to make the weekend worthwhile but you get quite exhausted. In think 2 weekends ago was the first time slept for 12 hours (on a friday night). It has to happen.
It even looks as though i wont be taking much leave during december (alot of others in the team are taking leave and they'll need someone to do standby over xmas). I'll see what happens. I've been too busy to even think about leave and will feel bad turning down the trip to CT with friends.
Time to see how empty JHB gets around XMAS and NY - its been 2 years so far. Fortunately, I'm saving up my leave and will spend alot of it overseas.
There should be an option that will put automatically put cellphone into silent during a meeting (as scheduled by calendar integration). That way, you dont get notification that you've got a meeting in 15 minutes during your previous meeting and disrupt a meeting of about 10 to 12 people. If anything, there should be a configurable chime so that you could set it to some slight beep + buzzer.
---
I've realised that i've been working quite late for the last 4 to 5 weeks. Its a good excuse to make the weekend worthwhile but you get quite exhausted. In think 2 weekends ago was the first time slept for 12 hours (on a friday night). It has to happen.
It even looks as though i wont be taking much leave during december (alot of others in the team are taking leave and they'll need someone to do standby over xmas). I'll see what happens. I've been too busy to even think about leave and will feel bad turning down the trip to CT with friends.
Time to see how empty JHB gets around XMAS and NY - its been 2 years so far. Fortunately, I'm saving up my leave and will spend alot of it overseas.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Monday, October 24, 2005
I have to recall an "ugly" aspect of the W800i. I said that "You can only take video clips of +- 20 seconds in length.".
I found the configuration option that disabled this. It was labelled as "Record video for MMS". Disabling this enables videos of proper size and any length (up to a maximum of the memory stick).
---
On a technical note, I've been posting technical articles to the Portland Pattern Repository - TimTwelves as opposed to on my blog. I like the idea of JRoller but maintaining two blogs would be a nightmare as i'm not inclined to write more than a few paragraphs once a month.
I found the configuration option that disabled this. It was labelled as "Record video for MMS". Disabling this enables videos of proper size and any length (up to a maximum of the memory stick).
---
On a technical note, I've been posting technical articles to the Portland Pattern Repository - TimTwelves as opposed to on my blog. I like the idea of JRoller but maintaining two blogs would be a nightmare as i'm not inclined to write more than a few paragraphs once a month.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
W800i,
The good:
(a) I've just started using calendar synchronisation between my outlook calendar and my cellphone calendar. WOW. Firstly, i've got alot of meetings. Secondly, its easy to use and the software is non invasive. I bought a pc bluetooth adapter and I use the software that comes with the phone. It includes time, title, venue details on its recurrence, etc. I set the phone to ALWAYS notify me - thus, if my phone is switched off, it will power up and notify me.
(b) I unplugged the Memory Stick DUO 512meg card lastnight. Its a bit difficult to pull/rip out... you have to press it in before it springs out. (My bad). Anyway, it was suprisingly easy. I didnt use the CD that came with it because I left it at work. I used one of those 11 in 1 card readers.
The bad:
(b) By default, the notification was set to "Only when On". I had to change this to "Always" before i would get reminded of a meeting. I think i was possibly wasnt giving it enough time, anyway, I spent time fiddling to find out whether I was going to get notified a few minutes before the event.
(c) The ringtone/signal for the calendar notification cannot be changed, nor can the amount of time before the event be set. Its set to notify 15 minutes beforehand. (I had to wait and see).
(d) I have to press a button to get my phone to synchronize. I want it to synchronize when I walk past my PC. (i'm lazy).
The ugly:
(d) The MP3 playback speed is slightly quicker than when playing through winamp and thus not accurate to the song. It is a really subtle difference that cancels out a small amount of the base and makes the trebble only slightly more noticable (i might be wrong with the physics). I am going to guess that winamp is correct and the w800i is wrong since winamp has been around for alot longer - more testing. If you play songs side by side, the w800i moves through the song quicker.
The MP3 playback is still good and not noticable unless you compare songs but since it is marketed as the "Sony Walkman", i would expect the playback to be accurate.
-Tim
(On a side note, james blunt, Wow)
The good:
(a) I've just started using calendar synchronisation between my outlook calendar and my cellphone calendar. WOW. Firstly, i've got alot of meetings. Secondly, its easy to use and the software is non invasive. I bought a pc bluetooth adapter and I use the software that comes with the phone. It includes time, title, venue details on its recurrence, etc. I set the phone to ALWAYS notify me - thus, if my phone is switched off, it will power up and notify me.
(b) I unplugged the Memory Stick DUO 512meg card lastnight. Its a bit difficult to pull/rip out... you have to press it in before it springs out. (My bad). Anyway, it was suprisingly easy. I didnt use the CD that came with it because I left it at work. I used one of those 11 in 1 card readers.
The bad:
(b) By default, the notification was set to "Only when On". I had to change this to "Always" before i would get reminded of a meeting. I think i was possibly wasnt giving it enough time, anyway, I spent time fiddling to find out whether I was going to get notified a few minutes before the event.
(c) The ringtone/signal for the calendar notification cannot be changed, nor can the amount of time before the event be set. Its set to notify 15 minutes beforehand. (I had to wait and see).
(d) I have to press a button to get my phone to synchronize. I want it to synchronize when I walk past my PC. (i'm lazy).
The ugly:
(d) The MP3 playback speed is slightly quicker than when playing through winamp and thus not accurate to the song. It is a really subtle difference that cancels out a small amount of the base and makes the trebble only slightly more noticable (i might be wrong with the physics). I am going to guess that winamp is correct and the w800i is wrong since winamp has been around for alot longer - more testing. If you play songs side by side, the w800i moves through the song quicker.
The MP3 playback is still good and not noticable unless you compare songs but since it is marketed as the "Sony Walkman", i would expect the playback to be accurate.
-Tim
(On a side note, james blunt, Wow)
Monday, October 17, 2005
I just recently got a Sony Ericsson w800i. This phone is the distant grandchild of the T610 (the phone i recently lost). The w800i fixes every issue and completes the T610 wishlist but I do have a few problem with it.
The good:
(a) Nice camera
(b) Nice radio
(c) Nice GUI - very responsive and well thought out. A good improvement on a good interface (T610)
The bad:
(d) The automatic keylock is a bit too quick. It needs to be a few seconds (4) longer.
The ugly:
(e) The T610 side grooves are missing. This makes the phone more difficult to handle (in comparison to the T610). Its still on par with other phones but the T610 ensured that you had a great grip on the phone by its side grooves.
(c) You can only take video clips of +- 20 seconds in length. This is horse shyte... I've got a 512meg memory card and I want to use it.
Conclusion
I am enjoying the phone. Its ever so slightly larger than T610 and its quite a refreshing facelift. Its got most of the latest features (i dont know what i'm missing). A good phone.
The good:
(a) Nice camera
(b) Nice radio
(c) Nice GUI - very responsive and well thought out. A good improvement on a good interface (T610)
The bad:
(d) The automatic keylock is a bit too quick. It needs to be a few seconds (4) longer.
The ugly:
(e) The T610 side grooves are missing. This makes the phone more difficult to handle (in comparison to the T610). Its still on par with other phones but the T610 ensured that you had a great grip on the phone by its side grooves.
(c) You can only take video clips of +- 20 seconds in length. This is horse shyte... I've got a 512meg memory card and I want to use it.
Conclusion
I am enjoying the phone. Its ever so slightly larger than T610 and its quite a refreshing facelift. Its got most of the latest features (i dont know what i'm missing). A good phone.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Client Java
One of the biggest gripes about java is the Swing support. Unfortunately, swing does not provide training wheels. Its easier to create a bad swing application than a good one. A good example is IntelliJ IDEA. The problem is typically a lack of understanding of various advanced swing topics by new developers. A few issues lacking in previous JDKs have made developers experiences difficult and has tarnished the view of swing development but once you understand the various concepts it becomes enjoyable.
Anyway, the whole point of this post was that I rediscovered the Client Java blog. In my opinion, it is a significant resource to keep up to date with Swing advancements. It is a community blog focused on various technology and concept advances in java for clients.
One of the biggest gripes about java is the Swing support. Unfortunately, swing does not provide training wheels. Its easier to create a bad swing application than a good one. A good example is IntelliJ IDEA. The problem is typically a lack of understanding of various advanced swing topics by new developers. A few issues lacking in previous JDKs have made developers experiences difficult and has tarnished the view of swing development but once you understand the various concepts it becomes enjoyable.
Anyway, the whole point of this post was that I rediscovered the Client Java blog. In my opinion, it is a significant resource to keep up to date with Swing advancements. It is a community blog focused on various technology and concept advances in java for clients.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Well... I went to Body IQ in an attempt to increase my vitality status.
My results are:
Body Weight: 86kg
Height: 177cm (5'9")
Body Fat: 15%
BP Systolic: 110
BP Diastoic: 70
Cholesterol: 4.87
VO2 max: 47.0
Sit & Reach: 55cm
Situps (per min): 50
Pushups (per min): 43
The particular examination was - (a) a questionair, (b) a cholesterol test, (c) blood pressure, (d) some odd belt gets strapped around your waist and a watch gets placed on your wrist to monitor heart rate, (e) a step test, 4 sequences of stepping to a particular taped beat that increases in frequency every sequence with a minute or two rest between each sequence and a final rest of 3 minutes, (f) max situps in 1 minute, (g) max pushups in 1 minute.
In total I get about 16000 points from that little exercise which should push me into silver status.
My results are:
Body Weight: 86kg
Height: 177cm (5'9")
Body Fat: 15%
BP Systolic: 110
BP Diastoic: 70
Cholesterol: 4.87
VO2 max: 47.0
Sit & Reach: 55cm
Situps (per min): 50
Pushups (per min): 43
The particular examination was - (a) a questionair, (b) a cholesterol test, (c) blood pressure, (d) some odd belt gets strapped around your waist and a watch gets placed on your wrist to monitor heart rate, (e) a step test, 4 sequences of stepping to a particular taped beat that increases in frequency every sequence with a minute or two rest between each sequence and a final rest of 3 minutes, (f) max situps in 1 minute, (g) max pushups in 1 minute.
In total I get about 16000 points from that little exercise which should push me into silver status.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Well... My car got stolen on sunday and was recovered by the police on tuesday. Its now in a vehicle pound awaiting the insurance agency picking it up for assessment.
Its quite amazing, I had to go very close to some super dodgy areas in JHB to fetch my car. I used Google Earth to view the area where I would be going allowing me the peace of mind to head there without any worries. Google Earth rocks, I've used it practically - for security reasons. When the chap was explaining how I get there and how some signs/small roads were difficult to read (you might miss it), I could see exactly what he ment and could never go wrong after using Google Earth.
The exact coordinates of my car when I left were 26`16'06.57" S 27`56'46.91" E.
They took,
1. Maccadamia nuts (R20)
2. Car radio (+-R300)
3. 2x Speekers (+-R800)
4. Cassette tapes (gift)
5. Night stick (??)
6. Sun blocker (R40)
7. Parking disc (??)
8. Money (+-R15)
9. Some shopping (+-R550)
10. Can of deodorant (R15)
11. Lipice (R5)
Total = R1695
They messed up,
1. Stuff around the ignition
2. Passenger seat
3. Boot area
4. I suspect something was taken from the engine
5. I suspect that the engine is dodgey
They left
1. Gift vouchers (R400)
2. Some bank receipts
Anyway... I was planning on changing my car so I was not suprised or unprepared for the financial impact (should they not recover my car).
-Tim
Its quite amazing, I had to go very close to some super dodgy areas in JHB to fetch my car. I used Google Earth to view the area where I would be going allowing me the peace of mind to head there without any worries. Google Earth rocks, I've used it practically - for security reasons. When the chap was explaining how I get there and how some signs/small roads were difficult to read (you might miss it), I could see exactly what he ment and could never go wrong after using Google Earth.
The exact coordinates of my car when I left were 26`16'06.57" S 27`56'46.91" E.
They took,
1. Maccadamia nuts (R20)
2. Car radio (+-R300)
3. 2x Speekers (+-R800)
4. Cassette tapes (gift)
5. Night stick (??)
6. Sun blocker (R40)
7. Parking disc (??)
8. Money (+-R15)
9. Some shopping (+-R550)
10. Can of deodorant (R15)
11. Lipice (R5)
Total = R1695
They messed up,
1. Stuff around the ignition
2. Passenger seat
3. Boot area
4. I suspect something was taken from the engine
5. I suspect that the engine is dodgey
They left
1. Gift vouchers (R400)
2. Some bank receipts
Anyway... I was planning on changing my car so I was not suprised or unprepared for the financial impact (should they not recover my car).
-Tim
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